Until recently, the ticks attracted comparatively little attention from entomologists. Since their importance as carriers of disease has been established, interest in the group has been enormously stimulated and now they `rank` second only to the mosquitoes in the amount of detailed study that has been devoted to them.

The ticks are the largest of the Acarina. They are characterized by the fact that the hypostome, or "tongue" is large and file-like, roughened by sharp teeth.