Ixodes Scapularis

Ixodes scapularis, the black-legged tick and sometimes loosely called the deer tick, is a hard-bodied tick in the family Ixodidae found across much of the eastern half of North America. It lacks eyes and shows a dark, plain scutum against orange or red body coloring in unfed females; adult females measure 3 to 4 millimeters and can engorge while feeding, while the smaller 2 to 3 millimeter males cannot, because their rigid scutum covers the whole body. The species has a two-year life cycle through larva, nymph, and adult stages, feeding on hosts including white-tailed deer, and is the main vector of Lyme disease in North America, also transmitting babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and Powassan virus disease; the CDC reported more than 30,000 new Lyme disease cases in 2016 alone.