QUESTING TICK on the prowl, ready to ambush unsuspecting prey in the Namibian bush...

Ticks belong to the invertebrate animals called phylum Arthropoda.

During feeding, the ticks crawl onto their host and attach to the skin with their mouthparts. When ticks have fully engorged the host’s blood, they detach from the host’s skin and drop to the ground.

Some ticks live in open environments and crawl onto vegetation to wait for their hosts to pass by.
This type of ambush and behaviour of waiting on vegetation is called “questing”. Some adult ticks are, however, active hunters and run across the ground after hosts

Be aware that ticks transmit numerous kinds of viruses, fungi, bacteria, and protozoa between
livestock, wildlife, and human hosts causing poor health and socio-economic losses to their respective hosts. Many studies indicate that there is no single, ideal solution to the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases. So be on the lookout when walking in the field…

Read more: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269966453_Occurrence_of_Ticks_and_Tick-Borne_Diseases_of_Livestock_in_Zambezi_Region_A_Review

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