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Small tick exhibiting the classic questing pose: he stood at the tip of the leaf and slowly waved his two front legs. I'm thinking male Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, but I'm really not sure.
Botanical Garden
This was a lucky find! I was taking photos in the local Botanical Garden when I saw what I thought was a large dark-coloured tick crawling on my hand. Without taking a closer look, I immediately shook it off. Then I second-guessed myself and wondered if I'd overreacted - if perhaps it had just been a beetle. Scanning the ground, I didn't find any sign of it, so I thought to myself "if that really was a tick, I bet there are more" and knelt down to study the undergrowth at the side of the path. Sure enough, right when I was about to give up, this little guy crawled out from behind a leaf and went into questing pose! The whole experience was an important reminder of just how ubiquitous ticks are in cities, even in gardens and public parks.
You are correct - looks like a Castor Bean Tick. Beautiful picture, love the questing pose!