Sheep Tick Science Image

Ref: 80200635



Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of common sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus) on hair. Ticks are arachnids having eight legs when fully mature. They feed on the blood of their mammalian hosts by piercing the skin with its mouthparts. The tick is a vector of Lyme's disease, a disabling bacterial disease that severely affects its host. Magnification: x30 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.