This illustration depicts a four-phase lifecycle of ticks that belong to the tick family, Ixodidae, or hard ticks.
“Most ticks go through four life stages: egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph, and adult. After hatching from the eggs, ticks must eat blood at every stage to survive. Ticks that require this many hosts can take up to 3 years to complete their full life cycle, and most will die because they don't find a host for their next feeding.”