Mating Ricinus Tick

This is a male Ixodes ricinus tick (smaller) shown copulating with a female tick (larger).

I. ricinus, the “castor bean” tick, so called because of its resemblance to the castor bean, is a vector for the B. burgdorferi spirochete, the cause of Lyme disease, and is commonly found on farm animals, and deer who are the natural host.

Photo credit: WHO

Pictures provided by CDC, Public Health Image Library (PHIL)