Description
The image shown at the upper right—and in fact, most images of Ixodes scapularis that are commonly available—show an adult that is unengorged, that is, an adult that has not had a blood meal. This is natural, since the ticks are generally removed immediately upon discovery to minimize the chance of disease. However, the abdomen that holds blood is so much larger when engorged and looks so different from the rest of the tick that it would be easy to assume that an engorged specimen of Ixodes scapularis is an entirely different tick (see photo at left).
When the deer tick has consumed a blood meal its abdomen will be a light grayish-blue color, whereas the tick itself is chiefly black. In identifying an engorged tick it is helpful to concentrate on the legs and upper part of the body.
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