Blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) spend little of their lives actually seeking out hosts—an activity called questing—or feeding on hosts. Most of the time, ticks are dormant and living in or near the soil. This diagram illustrates the typical two-year life cycle of a blacklegged tick, and notes factors (A-F) that affect its survival. The bottom box lists landscape and soil ecosystem aspects that can alter host communities (such as deer), as well as tick-killing predators and diseases, which can also affect tick survival rates. (Image originally published in Burtis et al 2019, Journal of Medical Entomology)