Ticks, Suborder Ixodida

Ticks, Suborder Ixodida The parasitic arachnids we call ticks all belong to the suborder Ixodida. The name Ixodida derives from the Greek word ixÃ… dÄ“s, meaning sticky. All feed on blood, and many are vectors of diseases. Description: Most adult ticks are quite small, the largest reaching about 3mm in length at maturity. But when engorged with blood, an adult tick can easily expand to 10 times its normal size. As adults and nymphs, ticks have four pairs of legs, like all arachnids. Tick larvae have only three pairs of legs. The tick life cycle has four stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. The female lays her eggs where the emerging larva is likely to encounter a host for its first blood meal. Once fed, it molts into the nymph stage. The nymph also requires a blood meal, and may go through several instars before reaching adulthood. The adult must feed on blood a final time before producing eggs. Most ticks have a three-host life cycle, with each stage (larva, nymph, and adult) finding and feeding on a different host animal. Some ticks, however, remain on a single host animal for their entire life cycle, feeding repeatedly, and others require two hosts. Classification: Kingdom – Animalia Phylum – ArthropodaClass – ArachnidaOrder – AcariGroup - ParasitiformesSuborder - Ixodida Habitat and Distribution: Worldwide, there are nearly 900 species of ticks known and described. The vast majority (about 700) of these are hard ticks in the family Ixodidae. Approximately 90 species occur in the continental U.S. and Canada. Major Families in the Order: Ixodidae – hard ticks Argasidae – soft ticks Genera and Species of Interest: Both the blacklegged or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) can transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.Proteins in the saliva of the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni, can cause paralysis in its hosts, which include cattle, horses, dogs, sheep, and humans. Boophilus ticks are parasites of large hoofed mammals, and complete their life cycle on a single host. Amblyomma nuttali holds the record for the largest clutch of eggs produced by a single tick – over 22,000! Sources: Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Synopsis Of The Described Arachnida Of The World, Texas AM University Entomology Dept. Accessed online December 31, 2013.The Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.The Distribution of Ticks, Centers for Disease Control. Accessed online December 31, 2013.Order Ixodida – Ticks, Bugguide.net. Accessed online December 31, 2013.Tick Biology, the Tick App, Texas AM University Entomology Dept. Accessed online December 31, 2013.

Expressions with Turn

Expressions with Turn Expressions with Turn Expressions with Turn By Maeve Maddox I find the word turn, its usage, and its derivatives tricky at times. Can we elaborate on  turn please? My first reaction to this reader’s suggestion was, â€Å"what can possibly be said about turn that would fill a post?† But then I started typing all the â€Å"turn† expressions I could think of and came up with dozens. Next I went to the OED online edition and despaired of ever scrolling to the bottom of the entry for turn as a verb. In my Compact OED print edition, I counted 34 columns devoted to turn. What a word! Let’s look at a few of its uses of turn as a verb. The verb turn has been in English for a thousand years. Old English tyrnan and turnian came from Latin tornÄ re, â€Å"to turn in a lathe.† Latin got it from a Greek word for a carpenter’s tool used to draw circles. In modern English, the basic meaning of turn is â€Å"to cause to move around.† A wheel turns; faucets turn. Carpenters turn wood on a tool called a lathe. Idioms used with turn can have many different meanings, both literal and figurative. Sleepers turn over in bed. People with a decision to make turn it over in their minds. In January, many people turn over a new leaf, and in April, taxpayers turn over a portion of their earnings to the IRS. Weary folk turn in for the night, vampires turn into bats, and informers turn against their associates and turn them in. Lights and machinery are turned on and turned off. In historical novels, criminals are also â€Å"turned off,† i.e., hanged. Old people turn up the heat; their children turn it down. Hotel maids turn down bedspreads, and wealthy actors turn down roles. When we think we have nowhere to turn, something always turns up and things turn out for the best. Turn is often coupled with body parts. Politicians turn a deaf ear, beautiful women turn heads, angry people turn their backs, a misstep causes someone to turn an ankle, bad smells turn our stomachs, andwhen we diewe turn up our toes. Readers (and people wanting a fresh start) turn the page, farmers turn the soil, resourceful heroes turn the tables on their enemies, and entrepreneurs turn a profit. Now it’s your turn. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†In Search of a 4-Dot Ellipsis35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow