All of these photographs are of one individual tick removed from the flank of a dog showing advanced signs of tick paralysis. The tick was alive - its legs moving and the body contracting. The dog was successfully treated with canine anti-tick serum. Location: Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Date: September 1999. Source: N Fischer.
This tick was easily removed by the scissor method.
Sizing photo
Dorsal view
Ventral view
Cuticle
Spiracle
Capitulum
Female with Eggs
Larvae freshly hatched from eggs
The cuticle is dotted with punctations (cuticular pores) and lined with striations (cuticular folds).
^ This lateral photograph shows the location of the spiracular plate, and the off-centred macula. The spiracle is the respiratory organ of the tick. The tracheal trunks arise from here.
^ The same engorged tick 2 weeks later, still alive (legs moving) showing eggs heaped forward. These were originally covering the anterior dorsum of the body
^ The tick turned onto its back
^ Size of the eggs, each small notch represents 1 millimeter
^ Larvae freshly hatched from some of the previously shown eggs. The ruler's notches are each 1 millimeter apart.