What does a tick eat from the forest: the main victims and enemies of the blood-sucking parasite
Where ticks live and what they eat in nature is a question that people who want to never cross paths with them want to know the answer to. Indeed, for many, at the mere mention of them, unpleasant associations arise. But why do they exist on this planet. Perhaps the benefits of them are no less than the harm.
What do ticks eat in nature
The vast majority of tick species are scavengers. They live in the upper layers of the soil and eat decaying plant remains, thereby transforming its structure: increasing porosity and spreading beneficial microorganisms.
Many species of arthropods isolate various minerals in their cuticles, thereby creating a cycle of soil nutrients, which is actively used in agriculture.
Who are ticks
Ticks are a subclass of arthropods from the class of arachnids. The largest group: at the moment, more than 54 thousand species are known. They reached such a heyday due to their microscopic size.
It is very rare to find representatives of this class about three millimeters in size. Ticks have neither wings nor visual organs. In space, they move with the help of a sensory apparatus, and they smell the smell of their prey at a distance of 10 meters.
The structure of the tick
The main types of ticks
According to the type of arthropods, they are divided into several types.
| armored | They feed on living plants, fungi, lichens and carrion. Dangerous for birds and animals, because they are carriers of helminths. |
| ixodid | This species happily parasitizes on cattle, forest and domestic animals, and does not disdain humans. |
| Gamazov | They choose nests of birds, burrows of rodents as places of residence and parasitize on their inhabitants. |
| Argasovs | They parasitize on domestic animals and birds, prefer chicken coops. They often attack humans. |
| gossamer | Absolutely harmless to people vegetarians. Their menu contains only fresh juices of live plants. |
| Dust | It does not parasitize on living organisms. It feeds on accumulations of fluff, feathers, dust. It is one of the causes of asthma in humans. |
| ear | Their main breadwinners are dogs and cats. They give them a lot of discomfort in the form of combing the ears and inflammation. |
| Scabies | Deliver a lot of trouble to animals and humans, causes scabies. They feed on subcutaneous secretions, causing itching and redness. |
| pasture | They live mainly in forests and forest-steppes. Dangerous to living beings, as they are carriers of dangerous diseases. |
| Predatory | They feed on their compatriots. |
| Subcutaneous | They live on animals and humans for several years, feeding on dead skin cells and causing unbearable itching and irritation. |
| Maritime | They live in flowing or stagnant water bodies and in the sea. They parasitize on aquatic insects and molluscs. |
What do ticks eat
After hatching from an egg, at all stages of its development, the tick needs blood. He can live without food for a couple of years, if after this period he does not find a host, then he dies.
The world of these creatures is so diverse, and food preferences are simply amazing. Blood is their favorite dish, but not the only one. They eat almost everything.
What do ticks eat in the forest
According to the type of food, arachnids are divided:
- saprophages. They feed only on organic remains;
- predators. They parasitize plants and living things and suck blood from them.
Scabies and field representatives of this species eat particles of human skin. Hair follicle oil is the best diet for subcutaneous mites.
Absorbing juices from plants, ticks cause damage to the agricultural industry. Granary eat the remains of flour, grains, plants.
Where and how ticks hunt
They live in every climatic zone and on all continents without exception.
Parasitism
Contrary to popular belief, both males and females suck blood. Males stick to the victim for a short time. For the most part, they are busy looking for a suitable female to mate with.
Females can eat up to seven days. They absorb blood in incredible quantities. A well-fed female exceeds the weight of a hungry one by a hundred times.
How does a parasite choose a host?
Ticks respond to body vibrations, heat, moisture, breath, and odors. There are also those who recognize shadows. They do not jump, do not fly, but only crawl very slowly. In its entire life, this type of arachnid is unlikely to crawl a dozen meters.
Clinging to clothes, body or wool, they are in search of delicate skin, only occasionally digging right away. Deciduous forests, tall grass - this is their habitat. They are carried by animals and birds, so those who work in the forest or raise livestock are in great danger. They can be brought into the house with wildflowers and branches.
Life cycle of a tick.
The life of a tick is divided into four stages:
- eggs;
- larvae;
- nymphs;
- imago.
Life expectancy - up to 3 years. Each stage needs nutrition on the host. Throughout the life cycle, the tick can change its victims. Depending on their number, bloodsuckers are:
- Single-owner. Representatives of this type, starting from the larva, spend their whole lives on one host.
- two-wire. In this type, the larva and nymph feed on one host, while the adult catches the second.
- Three-host. A parasite of this type lives in nature at every stage of development and hunts for a new host.
Do ticks need water
To maintain vital activity, in addition to blood, ticks need water. In the process of waiting for the victim, he loses moisture and he needs to replenish it. This process occurs by evaporating it through the cuticle that covers the body and through the tracheal system, as well as with waste products that are excreted from the body.
Only a small number of species drink water in our usual sense. Most absorb water vapor. The process occurs in the oral cavity of the arthropod, where saliva is secreted. It is she who absorbs water vapor from the air, and then is swallowed by a tick.
Significance in nature and human life
It is impossible to find an area where ticks do not exist.
Natural enemies
Ticks are not active all year round. In winter and summer, they plunge into a state where all their metabolic processes slow down. The greatest activity occurs in spring and early autumn. Much of their behavior depends on climatic conditions. This way of life becomes the reason that they themselves become victims.
The natural enemies of arthropods that reduce their population include:
Among them: ants, lacewings, dragonflies, bugs, centipedes and wasps. Some eat ticks for food, others use them as a place to store their eggs.
All of them do not disdain the parasite that gets in the way.
Moving along the grass, the birds look out for their prey. Some types of birds eat these vampires directly from the skins of animals.
Penetrating into the tissues of the arachnid and developing there, they release toxins that lead to the death of the arachnid.
borne infections
The number of people affected by tick bites is increasing every year. Of the diseases that they carry, the most famous are:
- Tick-borne encephalitis - a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and brain, possibly with a fatal outcome.
- Hemorrhagic fever - an acute infectious disease with aggravating consequences.
- Borreliosis - an infection resembling SARS. With appropriate treatment, it disappears in a month.
How does human infection occur?
Due to the fact that the food of these arachnids is blood, then infection occurs after a bite. Tick saliva may contain viral or bacterial infections. The saliva of an infected tick is dangerous if it enters the blood, and the contents of the intestine are also dangerous.
Not all ticks can be contagious. If the owner himself is a carrier of some kind of blood infection, the tick will pick it up, since they are able to carry up to a dozen infections.
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