Naturally occurring mites are numerous and varied. Scientists have already counted more than 20 thousand of all kinds of these arachnid parasites. These creatures can be found in forests, fields, swamps, and even in the seas and oceans. Their ability to reproduce is simply amazing! Even damp laundry or carpeting in your home can become a breeding ground for these vermin.
Instructions
Step 1
The regularity and rhythm of reproduction of representatives of the class of arachnids (ticks, spiders, scorpions) depends largely on the state of external factors and on nutrition. Ontogenesis is everything. On average, one male tick can fertilize several females. After that, he will die. It is curious that ticks are fertilized even before they begin to suck blood from humans and animals. However, it needs to be sucked after fertilization and before the eggs are laid. This usually lasts for 5-10 days.
Step 2
The period when female ticks are most active falls in May. Having sucked blood during this period, females lay several thousand eggs. This happens in early July. A female tick can lay from one to five thousand eggs at a time. They will be located low above the ground (on plants, on grass).
Step 3
The larvae that appear are looking for a host - any vertebrate animal that allows them to feed on blood for 2-5 days. After that, the drunken larvae fall away from the animal directly onto the soil. There they begin to shed and gradually turn into nymphs. In order to turn into an adult (an adult), the larvae again need to find a host and cling to it. The larvae that hatch at the end of summer can live without problems until spring.
Step 4
If we translate all of the above into numbers, it turns out that the period of development of one cycle of ticks, starting from the egg laid by the female and ending with an adult adult, is on average about 2 years. And again, it is worth remembering the external factors affecting the reproduction and development of ticks: in areas with a hot climate, the development period of larvae to imago is only six months! Scientists have found that the maximum duration of all the necessary stages of tick development in unfavorable conditions can be from 7 to 8 years.
Step 5
The problem of tick reproduction is that, on the one hand, both intermediate stages (larva and nymph) require them to feed on blood, but on the other hand, ticks have adapted so well to survive in the modern world that they can easily do without blood for a long time. time. They won't even die without food.
Step 6
But not everything is as cloudless as it might seem at first glance. The fact is that in some regions of the world, natural factors do not allow ticks to develop properly. For example, a female of the well-known ixodid ticks is capable of laying up to 17 thousand eggs in the ground (and not on plants)! However, complex external factors, as well as ontogenesis, destroy the absolute majority of eggs, larvae, and nymphs. Only a few adults survive to the adult stage.
