Ticks are blood-feeding external parasites of mammals, birds, and reptiles throughout the world.
Hard ticks have three distinct life stages. The larva which emerges from the egg has six legs. After obtaining a blood meal from a vertebrate host, it molts to the nymphal stage and acquire eight legs. The nymph feeds and molts to the next and final stage - the adult, which also has eight legs. After feeding once more, the adult female hard tick lays one batch of thousands eggs then dies.