Fig. 1

Group of Rhipicephalus microplus ticks collected through blood feeding. A Adult R. microplus females were collected, weighed, and divided into nine groups as follows (mean ± SD): (Rm-1) 6.8 ± 1.1 mg; (Rm-2) 15.8 ± 1.3 mg; (Rm-3) 25.1 ± 1.3 mg; (Rm-4) 35.0 ± 2.5 mg; (Rm-5) 52.5 ± 2.8 mg; (Rm-6) 88.0 ± 12.6 mg; (Rm-7) 172.5 ± 16.1 mg; (Rm-8) 270.2 ± 14.9 mg; and a group representing fully engorged females (FEF) weighing 347.5 ± 9.0 mg. A graphical representation demonstrates the grouping of ticks according to weight and their relationship with the feeding period. This graph illustrates the initial slow-feeding phase (from Rm-1 to Rm-6), followed by the rapid-feeding phase (from Rm-6 to FEF). B From left to right, a series of images showing a representative tick from each group, spanning from Rm-1 to FEF