Ixodes arboricola

Also known as the Tree-hole tick

Hosts

Blue tit, great tit, barn owl, peregrine falcon, woodpecker, sparrow, jackdaw, starling, house martin, nuthatch, bats

Distribution

Southern England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland

Ixodes arboricola is generally found in birds nests, in tree holes and in the entrances to caves

Pathogenesis

Tick-borne encephalitis virus

Description

Adult female dorsal features

• Palps are short
• Cornua indistinct
• Tarsus I humped
• Unfed females can measure between 2.4mm-2.7mm in length
• Engorged females can measure up to 6.0mm

(Specimen courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London)

Adult female dorsal view (click on pictures for a close up)

Adult female ventral features

• Auriculae indistinct
• Coxae I: lacks spurs
• Coxae II-IV: lacks spurs

(Specimen courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London)

Adult female ventral view (click on pictures for a close up)

Adult male dorsal features

• Palps are short
• Cornua indistinct
• Tarsus I humped
• Males can measure approximately 2.5mm in length

(Specimen courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London)

Adult male dorsal view (click on pictures for a close up)

Adult male ventral features

• Auriculae indistinct
• Coxae I: lacks spurs
• Coxae II-IV: lacks spurs

(Specimen courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London)

Adult male ventral view (click on pictures for a close up)