Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus
Adult female western black-legged tick
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Ixodida
Family: Ixodidae
Genus: Ixodes
Species:
I. pacificus
Binomial name
Ixodes pacificus
Cooley & Kohls, 1943

Ixodes pacificus, the western black-legged tick, is a species of parasitic tick found on the western coast of North America. I. pacificus is a member of the family Ixodidae (hard ticks). It is the principal vector of Lyme disease in that region. I. pacificus larvae and nymphs typically feeds on lizards and small mammals, while adults typically feed on deer.[1] It is an ectoparasite that attaches itself to the outside of its host and feeds on the host's blood. It can have a heteroxenous lifestyle or monoxenous life cycle depending on how many hosts it feeds on in each cycle.[2] I. pacificus has a four-stage life cycle that takes around 3 years to complete. These stages include egg, larva, nymph, and adult.[3] They prefer dense woodland habitats or areas of brush and tall grass.[4]

  1. ^ CDC (2019-01-10). "Geographic distribution of ticks that bite humans | CDC". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  2. ^ Maruyama, Sandra R; Anatriello, Elen; Anderson, Jennifer M; Ribeiro, José M; Brandão, Lucinda G; Valenzuela, Jesus G; Ferreira, Beatriz R; Garcia, Gustavo R; Szabó, Matias PJ; Patel, Sonal; Bishop, Richard (2010). "The expression of genes coding for distinct types of glycine-rich proteins varies according to the biology of three metastriate ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Amblyomma cajennense". BMC Genomics. 11 (1): 363. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-11-363. PMC 2901319. PMID 20529354.
  3. ^ Padgett, Kerry A.; Lane, Robert S. (2001-09-01). "Life Cycle of Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae): Timing of Developmental Processes Under Field and Laboratory Conditions". Journal of Medical Entomology. 38 (5): 684–693. doi:10.1603/0022-2585-38.5.684. PMID 11580041. S2CID 24100268.
  4. ^ "Lyme Disease", Dynamic Modeling of Diseases and Pests, Springer New York, pp. 115–136, 2009, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09560-8_7, ISBN 978-0-387-09559-2