Ixodes ricinus

Ixodes ricinus, commonly known as the castor bean tick or sheep tick, is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick in the family Ixodidae. It has no eyes and lacks ornamental markings, with palpi longer than they are wide and an anal groove above the anus; males carry a hard dorsal shield covering the entire abdomen. It is small, with males measuring 2.4 to 2.8 millimeters, unfed nymphs 1.3 to 1.5 millimeters, and unfed females 3.0 to 3.6 millimeters, though an engorged female can reach 11 millimeters after feeding on blood. It is found across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, extending to Iceland in the north and parts of Russia to the east, and it can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens, including the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.