Common tick (Ixodes ricinus) mouthpart

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acerola
Posts: 251
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:28 pm
Location: Hungary
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Common tick (Ixodes ricinus) mouthpart

Post by acerola »

I'm not all that content with this picture. The lighting could be better. The rose leaf background was not the best choice. But I uploaded it to compare the different tick species mouth part with each other. As Rik and Charlie discussed this topic under this post.

Interesting to note, that the stomata (if I name them well) are visible on the bottom right part of the leaf.

Image

Canon 20d with extension tubes and Nikon 10x NA 0.3 objective, stacked from 30 picture with tufuse
Last edited by acerola on Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Péter

Planapo
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Location: Germany, in the United States of Europe

Post by Planapo »

I. ricinus is the most annoying animal around my place from spring to autumn when you are out there in the woods and fields/grasslands! I am vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis virus, but there is still Borrelia causing Lyme disease that is a problem here, and I once had to take antibiotics too when developing a red rash after a bite.
Ixodes has the habit of crawling around in search of a suitable place to bite, which gives one the chance to find it before it has bitten. So, additionally to wearing light-coloured clothes we always search our bodies for Ixodes when coming back from the great outdoors.

(As to the stomata, Péter: Stoma (Greek for mouth) is singular, stomata is plural, so just omit the s)

--Betty

beetleman
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Location: Southern New Hampshire USA

Post by beetleman »

A very nice photo Peter. There was an article yesterday in our local paper about the increase in the number of ticks the entomologists were finding and the increase in the number of lyme cases we were seeing every year. :shock:
Take Nothing but Pictures--Leave Nothing but Footprints.
Doug Breda

acerola
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Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:28 pm
Location: Hungary
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Post by acerola »

Betty, thanks for the grammar I edited it.
My wife also keeps worrying about ticks. She has all the reason, because if I go out photographing it includes very much laying around on the ground. So I just got the third vaccination against encephalitis last week. I also checking myself after the field work, but somehow the most minute ticks trick me time to time. The first nymphs the most dangerous for this reason, because I did not notice them. Even though I am very good in noticing ticks. I have maybe a hundred pictures from them.
I have comfortable waders they are like trousers. I use them for laying down in the wet grass when it is not so hot. That is a good protection against ticks as well.
Péter

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