Wood tick

Who says a blip has to be pretty?  This is a tick looking for dinner, and dinner was going to be me!  Dinner was never served, and as I like variety and have a quirky sense of humor, this tick became blip material instead.

I spent several hours outdoors today, one hour in a place ticks would be expected and the remainder where ticks might be present.  As ticks carry diseases, it's a good idea to check yourself for ticks after being outdoors in grass or weeds.

This female American dog tick (also known as a wood tick) was crawling up my left leg and had not yet embedded itself for a blood meal.  It was in a perfect spot on my leg to easily take a close up picture.  It's tiny, about 5mm (less than 1/4 inch) long. Ticks have eight legs and are in the same family as spiders.