wood tick

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Any of various ticks of the genus Dermacentor that occur in wooded areas, infest mammals, and transmit the microorganisms that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia in humans.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Any tick of the family Ixodidæ. See Ixodidæ, tick, and cut under Acarida.
• noun A small insect which ticks in the woodwork of houses; the death-watch. See cut under death-watch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of ticks of the genus Ixodes whose young cling to bushes, but quickly fasten themselves upon the bodies of any animal with which they come in contact. When they attach themselves to the human body they often produce troublesome sores. The common species of the Northern United States is Ixodes unipunctata.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun common tick that can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia