This tick is generally located in the northwest United States and southwest Canada along the Rocky Mountains.

Prevention of infections associated with these ticks is based on control of exposure to the vector, including wearing proper clothing when in woods/wet areas, and checking oneself thoroughly after returning home.

The duration of the lifecycle varies between 1 and 3 years and is influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, and host availability.

[3] Larval ticks hatch in early summer and begin questing for small mammalian hosts, seeking the stimuli of carbon dioxide, light, temperature, and humidity.

A larva may cling to a passing host with the first pair of legs, climb upwards, and then attach with its gnathostome to the neck or shoulder region.

[1] Their bodies are flat and pear-shaped, ranging from 2.0 to 5.3 mm in length, and have 11 festoons on their lower dorsal portion.

This species is sexually dimorphic; females are generally larger and can increase their size by nearly three times when fully engorged.