Personal parasite.

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micro_pix
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

I spotted this tiny Tick feasting on my arm after a walk in the forest so I got out my trusty "O'Tom Tick Twister", pulled it out and took it's picture with a Canon M50 MkII through a Raynox 5320pro tube lens and Olympus 20xLMPlanFl.
Dave

Ixodes tick mouthparts.
2021-04-17-00.54.jpg
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MarkSturtevant
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by MarkSturtevant »

=D>
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Lou Jost
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Lou Jost »

Wow, very impressive that you were able to get it off of you with the mouthparts intact. Nice photo too!

micro_pix
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Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

Thanks mark and Lou,

they are very common around here and those "Tick Twisters" do a great job of getting them off easily without leaving anything behind.

Dave

Deanimator
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Deanimator »

I've probably seen them close up before, but don't remember the mouth parts looking like that. Of course the pictures I saw probably weren't from the UK, so probably a different species of tick.

We used to get them out in the field in Missouri during ROTC field exercises. Back then ('76-'80) macrophotography as something I could do myself hadn't even entered my consciousness.

Excellent image.

micro_pix
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Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

Deanimator wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:46 am
I've probably seen them close up before, but don't remember the mouth parts looking like that. Of course the pictures I saw probably weren't from the UK, so probably a different species of tick......
Thanks Deanimator.

I think that they are all pretty similar. The main mouth parts are really just the barbed hypostome which penetrates the skin and the palps which are normally folded against the hypostome (partly to protect it I suppose). When biting the palps fold away from the hypostome to facilitate penetration and that’s the position they are in here.

Dave

micro_pix
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Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

It was about three days after my walk that I noticed this tick. It’s now a week later and I had the violent shivers last night and neck and head pain this morning. The doc suspects Lyme disease so a blood test in the morning and 3 weeks antibiotics!!

Dave

Pau
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Pau »

micro_pix wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:05 am
It was about three days after my walk that I noticed this tick. It’s now a week later and I had the violent shivers last night and neck and head pain this morning. The doc suspects Lyme disease so a blood test in the morning and 3 weeks antibiotics!!
I'm very sorry, at least you took the adequate revenge with its magnificent post mortem posed portrait.
Best wishes.
Pau

Scarodactyl
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Scarodactyl »

Oof, I am really sorry to hear that. I haven't had lyme disease but I got a red meat allergy from one of them. I am really not a fan overall, though I have to admit the portrait makes them look kind of rad.

micro_pix
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Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

Thanks!

I feel fine now, the neck and headache lasted most of the second day but that was it I hope. It will be interesting to see the blood test results, it's an antibody test and they aren't so effective early on. I was thinking about trying to spot some of the bacteria involved (the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferby) by looking at a drop of blood but apparently they are very dispersed and that's why a PCR (bacterial DNA) test for active infection isn't reliable enough.

DAve

Deanimator
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Deanimator »

micro_pix wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 2:05 am
It was about three days after my walk that I noticed this tick. It’s now a week later and I had the violent shivers last night and neck and head pain this morning. The doc suspects Lyme disease so a blood test in the morning and 3 weeks antibiotics!!

Dave
I'm lucky I missed all of that.

Good luck.

micro_pix
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

Deanimator wrote:
Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:16 pm

I'm lucky I missed all of that.

Good luck.
Thanks! Great to see you have your gear set up and working again after your very traumatic year!

Dave

Deanimator
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by Deanimator »

micro_pix wrote:
Sat Apr 24, 2021 2:45 am
Deanimator wrote:
Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:16 pm

I'm lucky I missed all of that.

Good luck.
Thanks! Great to see you have your gear set up and working again after your very traumatic year!

Dave
I'm astonished at how quickly I got the diffusion working properly.

seta666
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Re: Personal parasite.

Post by seta666 »

Congrats!! very nice indeed!!! perfect lighting, what did you use?

micro_pix
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 12:05 pm
Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK

Re: Personal parasite.

Post by micro_pix »

Thanks.

I used a couple of very diffused flash units set at shallow angle.

Dave

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