Gizmodo: Ticks pee all over themselves when they suck blood
Ticks can get overheated drinking warm blood, UC biologist Joshua Benoit explains
Gizmodo turned to University of Cincinnati biologist Joshua Benoit to explain why some ticks have unusual bathroom habits when they feed.
UC biologist Joshua Benoit. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
Benoit, an associate professor of biological sciences in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, has studied ticks at UC's Center for Field Studies and at Great Parks of Hamilton County. He spoke about an independent study by the University of Tours in France published in BioRxiv.
Turns out Hamlet's vengeful phrase "Now could I drink hot blood" isn't far from the mark when it comes to a species of soft tick found in South America. The blood they drink can dangerously raise their body temperature.
"You go from 20 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius in, like, 10 seconds," Benoit told Gizmodo. "It's pretty abrupt, I mean, [humans] would pass out if we heated up that quickly."
Since ticks can't sweat like we do when we tuck into a hot or spicy meal, the South American ticks cool themselves off with pee instead. The ticks withstand their hot meal through evaporative cooling.
Featured image at top: UC associate professor Joshua Benoit, far left, collects ticks with UC biology students at UC's Center for Field Studies. Photo/Jay Yocis/UC Creative + Brand
More UC biology news
UC student Yi-Ting Sung holds up a spider in a biology lab. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
Smithsonian: UC finds pollution in ancient Maya city
Twitter fight: Birds use social networks to pick opponents
WLW: UC biologist says get ready for return of cicadas
UC builds better test of animal vision
Bloomberg: P&G is developing next big thing in room buzzing with flies
What do Chinese opera masks and spiders have in common? A lot, as it turns out
Related Stories
Will a gas tax help lower prices at the pump?
May 14, 2026
WCPO recently reported on Kentucky and Indiana’s steps to combat surging gas prices, cutting and suspending state gas taxes, respectively. UC economist Michael Jones explained the impact on Cincinnati.
Is a colonoscopy painful?
May 13, 2026
The University of Cincinnati's Susan Kais, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the College of Medicine and UC Health gastroenterologist, recently appeared on the ARC Cincinnati morning program on Local 12/WKRC-TV to answer common questions from viewers about colonoscopies and to dispel myths.
Telescope captures information about lonely Jupiter-like gas giant
May 13, 2026
Science outlets highlight a University of Cincinnati student's collaborative discoveries about an exoplanet 901 light years away.