RECOGNITION. Unengorged adults are about 1/8in (3 mm) long, but enlarge up to about 1/2in (12 mm) long when engorged with blood.  Body flattened dorsoventrally (top to bottom).  Reddish brown in color, but when engorged, engorged parts of body change to grey-blue or olive color.  Male with tiny pits scattered over the back.  Scutum (dorsal shield just behind mouthparts) present which covers males entire back but only front part of females back.  Eyes on margin of scutum.  Capitulum (mouthparts and their base) visible from above; basis capituli (base for mouthparts) laterally produced/anqular, not straight; 2^nd segment of palpi about as long as wide.  Abdominal festoons (rectangular areas divided by grooves along posterior margin) present; anal groove present, posterior to anus.

HABITS. The brown dog tick does not do well outdoors in the woods in the United States.  They prefer warm, dry conditions where dogs live.  They do not travel far after engorgement and dropping off the host.  They typically move upward, a behavior which usually promotes host encounters.

     Brown dog ticks may attach themselves anywhere on a dog.  The adults typically attach on the ears and between the toes, but the larvae (seed ticks) and nymphs typically attach on the back.

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