The accompanying questions are:
1. What is the (top) arthropod shown here?
2. What is the name of the behavior it is displaying?
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Please note that all opinions expressed here are mine and not my employer. Information provided is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. I do not accept medical consults from patients.
The Fine Print:
Please note that all opinions expressed here are mine and not my employer. Information provided is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. I do not accept medical consults from patients.
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8 comments:
Are these two Ixodes ticks mating? If so, the top (smaller) is the male, the larger is the female.
I believe the top arthropod is an immature hard tick and it is "questing"; AKA hitchhiking ; thumbing for a ride.
Top one surely is a tick (could be Ixodes - it is at least a "hard" tick); bottom one is a beetle (weevil? Fam.Curculionoidea). I have no idea about the ticks behaviour... But I am inclined to go for the hitchhiking! Preparing to cling to a passer-by...
The top creature is a hard tick and the bottom creature is an insect. The tick is saying "hey, hey, get off of my cloud!", ie. defensive display. What the heck is the structure upon which they are standing?
BW from Vt
An ixodid tick is catching a ride on an insect (looks like a true bug of some kind?). If it is hitchhiking on the bug, this behavior is termed phoresis I believe (a type of commensalism)
Quite an unusual situation, I would agree with Nate. The Ixodes tick is catching a free flight on a beetle and possibly fits the etymology of a "garrapata" in Spanish.
Would be interesting when Dr. Pritt unveils the enigma.
Florida Fan
The behavior appears to be phoresy (=phoresis), for sure. Usually the hitch-hiker doesn't pick a vehicle so similar to its own size! I've seen pseudoscorpions riding on large beetles before, and I know aquatic mites are often transported between ponds by riding on waterfowl.
Oh, and the "vehicle" the tick is riding on is a weevil of some sort.
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