tick

a bloodsucking parasite belonging to the order of arthropods (the Acarina) that also includes the MITE . Tick bites can cause serious skin lesions and occasionally paralysis (see IXODES , AMBLYOMMA ), and certain tick species transmit TYPHUS , LYME DISEASE , and RELAPSING FEVER . Dimethyl phthalate is used as a tick repellent. There are two families: Argasidae (soft ticks), which includes Ornithodoros, with mouthparts invisible from above and no hard shield (scutum) on the dorsal surface; and Ixodidae (hard ticks), including Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Rhipicephalus, with clearly visible mouthparts and a definite scutum.