hedgehog tick

The hedgehog tick is dark brown in color, but appears light grey or white when engorged. It can be identified by the humped tarsae of its first pair of legs. The adult female has a characteristic heart- or hexagon-shaped scutum; the male's scutum covers the entire body segment (idiosoma), as is typical for hard ticks. A lateral groove runs along the body segment, and becomes more evident when the tick is engorged.

Ixodes hexagonus is found widely throughout central and western Europe, and as far east as Siberia. In the United Kingdom, its distribution is sparse to the northwest, increasing in density to the southeast. As a nest-dwelling parasite of the European hedgehog, its distribution is closely associated with that of its preferred host. Hedgehogs are not its only host, however; it can also be found on foxes, mustelids, dogs and cats.