Ixodes ricinus
species of hard-bodied tick
Ixodes ricinus, commonly known as the castor bean tick, the sheep ked, sheep tick, is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick. It may reach a length of 11 mm (0.43 in) when engorged with a blood meal, and can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
Description
In common with other species of Ixodes, I. ricinus has no eyes and is not ornate; it has no festoons (wrinkles along the posterior margin). The palpi are longer than they are wide, and an anal groove is above the anus.
It has a hard dorsal shield which covers the entire opisthosoma (abdomen), but only part of it in females and nymphs. I. ricinus is the largest of the three common species of Ixodes in the British Isles (the other two being I. canisuga, the British dog tick, and I. trianguliceps, the vole tick). Adult males are 2.4–2.8 mm (0.09–0.11 in) long, and unfed nymphs are 1.3–1.5 mm (0.05–0.06 in) long; females are 3.0–3.6 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long before feeding and 11 mm (0.43 in) long when engorged.
Distribution
Ixodes ricinus is found across Europe and into neighbouring parts of North Africa and the Middle East, extending as far north as Iceland and as far east as parts of Russia. Its northern limit seems to be determined by environmental factors, including temperature, since a series of mild winters in Scandinavia coincided with an expansion northwards in the range of I. ricinus.
I. ricinus is most frequent in habitats where its hosts are plentiful, including woodlands, heaths and forests.
“Ixodes ricinus” enters the record as species of hard-bodied tick. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ixodes, ricinus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21175. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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