What is the absolute dietary requirement for *Dermacentor* tick development?
Answer
A blood meal to fuel development through all active stages.
The existence of wood ticks, including both the Rocky Mountain species (*D. andersoni*) and the American Dog Tick (*D. variabilis*), is fundamentally dependent on consuming blood. These creatures are classified as obligate hematophages, meaning that blood is the sole nutritional source required for growth and maturation. This singular focus dictates their entire life cycle, compelling them to seek out a living host during the larval, nymphal, and adult phases. Without successfully obtaining a blood meal at each stage, the tick lacks the necessary energy reserves to undergo the molting process required to advance to the next developmental stage.
Related Questions
What is the absolute dietary requirement for *Dermacentor* tick development?How does the adult male wood tick's blood meal requirement compare to the female's?What substance is secreted by the tick's *capitulum* to prevent immediate host detection?What small mammals are typical hosts for larvae and nymphs of *D. andersoni*?Which group of animals defines the common host preference for adult *D. variabilis*?When questing, how does a tick utilize its legs to sense potential passing hosts?What physical height range corresponds to the common questing posture of nymphs and adults?What happens after a tick ingests blood that prepares it for future pathogen injection?Which specific disease is transmitted by *D. andersoni* but not generally associated with *D. variabilis*?Why is the feeding dependency of *D. andersoni* larvae/nymphs on small mammals ecologically significant?