What is the term for a tick that feeds on a rabbit during its larval and nymphal stages, but feeds on a cow after it becomes an adult?

• A. Two host tick
• B. Promiscuous tick
• C. Bispecific tick
• D. Dermatid tick

Answer: (A)

Ticks are categorized by how many different hosts they feed on across their life stages. A two-host tick feeds on one host during the larval and nymphal stages and then on a second host as an adult. Here, the larva and nymph feed on a rabbit, and the adult feeds on a cow, which fits the two-host pattern exactly. One-host ticks stay on the same animal for all stages, and three-host ticks use a different host for each stage, so those patterns don’t apply here. The two-host label is the standard way to describe this life-cycle pattern.