Bug of the Week #007 - Seabird Tick (Ixodes uriae)
Family: Hard Tick Family (Ixodidae)
IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed
As its name suggests, the Seabird Tick is a specialist parasite that feeds primarily on the blood of various marine birds (including gulls, penguins, auks, skuas and albatrosses, as well as some non-marine hosts such as starlings and ducks,) using a pair of powerful sharp-tipped jaws (chelicerae) to latch on to hosts while a tube-like structure between the jaws (the hypostome) extends into the host’s body to access its blood. Born as tiny six-legged larvae, members of this species feed just 2-3 times throughout their lives, swelling with blood before dropping from their host and taking shelter in rocky crags while they digest and grow; they take their first meal shortly after hatching to fuel their moult into a larger eight-limbed nymph and later take a second meal in order to develop into adulthood. After maturing females feed once more in order to amass the nutrients needed to produce eggs (although the short-lived males will never feed as adults, often lingering in seabird nests to mate with females after they drop from their hosts.) When not feeding Seabird Ticks have been observed huddling together in large groups, which may be an adaptation to resist attacks from predators and parasites of their own.
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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/100910972