Book 4, Question 39
Why Do Ticks Hitch a Ride?
A tick is a tiny hitchhiker that needs a blood meal to grow and to make eggs. It cannot fly or jump. So it waits on grass and grabs a passing animal, or even a pant leg.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 4
More fun facts
- Ticks are tiny blood-sucking parasites that like warm, damp places.
- Many ticks climb a blade of grass and wait for an animal to pass, with a hooked leg stretched out.
- A tick's mouth is full of tiny hooks that help it hang on while it feeds.
- Scientists found that static electricity on animals can pull tiny ticks through the air to them.
- After feeding, a female tick can lay thousands of eggs.
- Over the last 50 years, more than 140 kinds of ticks from other places have arrived in the United States on livestock, pets or people.
Sources: BBC, National Geographic, Scientific American, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Can ticks jump or fly?
They cannot fly on their own, but static electricity can pull tiny ticks through the air onto animals.