Certain biochemicals such as carbon dioxide as well as heat and movement serve as stimuli for questing behavior. Subsequently, these ticks climb on to a potential host which brushes against their extended front legs. The flags are slowly dragged across the surface of vegetation to collect questing ticks. Hard ticks feed for extended periods of time on their hosts, varying from several days to weeks, depending on such factors as life stage, host type, and species of tick. Lifecycles of Hard Ticks Hard ticks have a variety of life histories with respect to optimizing their chance of contact with an appropriate host to ensure survival.
Some ticks feed on only one host throughout all three life stages.
These ticks are called one host ticks . This type of tick remains on one host during the larval and nymphal stages, until they become adults, and females drop off the host after feeding to lay their batch of eggs. Other ticks feed on two hosts during their lives and are called two host ticks . This type of tick feeds and remains on the first host during the larval and nymphal life stages, and then drops off and attaches to a different host as an adult for its final blood meal. The adult female then drops off after feeding to lay eggs.