Common name : Cattle tick
Scientific name : Rhipicephalus microplus
Family : Ixodidae
Native to : Asia, parts of Australia and Madagascar, Caribbean, South and Central America and Mexico
Interesting fact : Apart from infesting cattle, the cattle tick is also known to infest sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, llamas and deer.
The cattle tick stays on a single host throughout its life-cycle. The female tick gorges on the host blood then drops to the pasture where she lays as many as 3000 eggs. The larvae grow into adults in 21 days. These ticks have to be controlled; otherwise they breed to a large number which can result in the reduction in the weight of the cattle, reduction in milk production and even death.
