Ticks are not insects: How do they see, smell and reproduce?

Dr. R. Michael Roe, North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology

Paul Dahm Memorial Lecture.

Abstract. Despite the natural inclination for entomologist to think ticks are just another insect, as you might expect if you think hard enough, they are not. However, this “insect” thinking has turned out to be a great opportunity for a once young scientist, with many life lessons now for the next generation of biologists. Ticks smell with their tarsi and more like nematodes than insects, see in the dark, and reproduce in ways and using hormones unlike insects. Do not always believe what you read in Science or PNAS and do not be afraid to challenge conventional thinking; this is where the discoveries are made and were the fun happens.