Black legged tick
Scientific name: Ixodes scapularis Say, 1821
Overview
Ixodes scapularis is a hard-bodied tick found in much of the eastern half of North America. Its common name is the black-legged tick, although it is sometimes known by the misnomer deer tick because its adult life stages frequently feed on white-tailed deer. In 1979, ticks found associated with Babesiosis in the northeastern US were given the scientific name Ixodes dammini and the common name deer tick. In 1993, it was shown that Ixodes dammini was the same as a previously identified species, Ixodes scapularis, from the southeastern US, which already had the common name black-legged tick.
From the Wikipedia article “Ixodes scapularis”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Canada, Mexico, United States.
Common names
Also known in English as Deer tick, Northern deer tick.
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- قرادة الغزال
- Chinese
- 鹿蜱
- French
- Tique aux pattes noires
- German
- Hirschzecke
- Indonesian
- parasitologi tentang ixodes scapularis
- Persian
- ایکسودس اسکاپولاریس
- Russian
- Черноногий клещ
- Spanish
- Garrapata de los ciervos, Garrapata de patas negras
- Turkish
- Geyik kenesi
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: TicksBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — names in other languages. Q1497962, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Ixodes scapularis”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Photo by Scott Bauer. (USDA ARS), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026