Hard Tick (likely Deer Tick or Dog Tick)

Wooded areas, tall grass, and brushy fields where animal hosts are present.

Hematophagous; they feed exclusively on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles.

Includes 'questing' where they climb to the tips of vegetation and wait with front legs outstretched to latch onto a passing host. They have a four-stage life cycle: egg, larva, nymph, and adult.

Significant health risk as vectors for diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Anaplasmosis; they provide little benefit and are considered parasitic pests.