19 Pictures of Common Bug Bites and How to Identify Their Symptoms

What they look like: The best way to ID a tick bite is to find one of the insects attached to you—and they can linger for three to six days as they feed on your blood. Some leave a red spot about the size of a dime, but not everyone exhibits this. Tick bites often occur on warmer parts of the body, like the hairline, armpits, behind the knees, and groin.

Symptoms to note: Tick bites are pretty painless and a bit itchy at first, but dangerous, with more serious symptoms appearing days to weeks after a bite. A bullseye rash (pictured here) signals Lyme disease, but other tick-borne illnesses include ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and tularemia, although the risk for each varies depending on the tick’s species.

RELATED: How to Remove a Tick Correctly

What they look like: If you’ve got two tiny puncture marks on your skin (or see a spider crawling away), you are probably dealing with a spider bite. Redness and swelling at the site of the bite are also common. Thankfully, most spiders bite only when provoked.

Symptoms to note: Innocuous spider bites often cause mild pain (like a bee sting) and even itching. But watch out for brown recluses and black widows: The former can cause necrotic lesions, while the latter can bring on muscle spasms, tremors, and nausea. Seek medical help if you suspect a bite from either of these spiders.

RELATED: How to Treat a Spider Bite

What it looks like: Mosquito bites present as small, puffy, round bumps that are lighter or redder than the surrounding skin. Bites often center around ankles, hairlines, and the backs of knees and necks, and they’re likely to be isolated—not part of a cluster (unless you were hanging out in prime mosquito territory during dawn or dusk).

Symptoms to note: As you most likely know, mosquito bites are painless at first, then very, very itchy. Some people suffer from “skeeter syndrome,” which causes the bites to grow into painful, swollen welts. Mosquitoes do carry a risk of certain diseases like West Nile and Zika, so monitor for cold- or flu-like symptoms after a bite.

RELATED: How to Prevent Mosquito Bites

What they look like: Often confused with mosquito bites, bed bug bites are small, red, puffy bumps that appear in lines or clusters, usually three or more. They can have distinct red marks at their center, and they often appear on exposed skin that touches the bed at night, including the arms, neck, or trunk of the body. With close examination of your room, you can often find the bugs (or their droppings) in your mattress, particularly around the corners, the head end, and the cord that encircles it.

Symptoms to note: Bed bug bites aren’t too painful, but they can be very itchy and swollen. The parasites don’t spread diseases like ticks do; however, they’re difficult to remove and won’t stop biting you until they’re eradicated from your home.

RELATED: How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

What they look like: Another too-close-for-comfort pest are head lice, which leave patches of red, abraded spots on the scalp and surrounding skin (like this one pictured). Although their bites are small, the body’s reaction to them makes them grow. You might not even see the bites first—the initial giveaway might be tiny lice eggs (a.k.a. nits) first.

Symptoms to note: Lice bites are quite itchy, and an infestation can even feel like something is moving or tickling in the hair (which, to be honest, is what’s happening). This can actually cause trouble sleeping. Sores caused by scratching can also develop easily. The only solution is getting rid of the bugs ASAP.

RELATED: Signs of Head Lice You Shouldn’t Ignore

What they look like: Like bed bug or lice bites, flea bites are red bumps that appear in lines and clusters. They’re distinctively small, and they often have reddish halos surrounding them. Fleas tend to bite around the ankles and in warm places like the knees, groin, and armpits—but honestly, they usually prefer your pets.

Symptoms to note: Flea bites are very itchy, and they might even become sore or painful, causing a rash around the affected skin. Scratching the bites could cause these symptoms to worsen or even lead to infection.

What it looks like: There are a few major fly species that bother people in the United States, including deer, horse, stable, and black flies. Bites vary by species and person, but they’re often raised, red bumps or welts. Some might even bleed. Blackfly bites also might swell. (Pictured here is a horse fly bite.)

Symptoms to note: More often than not, fly bites are going to hurt. After the pain subsides, some may also become itchy, but most fly bites are innocuous. In rare cases, deer flies can pass on the bacterial disease tularemia (which can cause a painful ulcer), and blackfly bites can lead to a flu-like condition called “blackfly fever.”

What they look like: Sand fly bites are distinct from those of other flies. They can appear alone, but often present in groups of small, red bumps or blisters.

Symptoms to note: Sand fly bites are generally painful and may start to itch. In certain parts of the world—including the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe–they can transmit cutaneous leischmaniasis, a parasitic infection that causes skin lesions and ulcers.

What they look like: Also known as berry bugs or harvest mites, chiggers are those tiny, red mites that are almost invisible to the naked eye. Their bites take the form of flat, red patches or raised, red bumps, and they sometimes might even become blisters or pustules. Chiggers often bite the ankles, wrists, thighs, groin, and waist.

Symptoms to note: Contrary to popular belief, chiggers don’t burrow into your skin or suck blood—but that doesn’t make their bites any less itchy. The severe discomfort can last up to two weeks, but mites don’t spread disease, at least within the United States.

RELATED: How to Get Rid of Berry Bugs for Good

What they look like: Some ants can bite and sting. If you’re dealing with an aggressive one, it’s probably a fire ant, which are more common in the southern states. Fire ants, because they’re so lovely, will actually bite you so they can hold themselves against your body—and then proceed to sting you with their backend. The result can cause a pimple-like pustule, although some people don’t react at all.

Symptoms to note: Fire ant stings are very painful due to the potency of their venom, and since ants don’t lose their stingers when they attack, you’ll probably end up with multiple wounds. The inflammation and pain can take days or weeks to go away, and sometimes checking in with a doctor is needed.

RELATED: How to Get Rid of Ants

What it looks like: Bee stings vary from person to person. Some people exhibit only a small, light spot, while others get a larger, red welt. There also might be a white spot at the center where the sting occurred. In the case of a honey bee sting, the barbed stinger is often still attached—which will keep pumping venom into your body until you remove it.

Symptoms to note: Bee stings cause moderate pain, which should subside within a few hours. All insect stings can cause life-threatening allergic reactions, and bee stings are no exception. Monitor your symptoms after a sting and call 911 if you notice the signs of anaphylaxis, including swelling beyond the sting site, tightness in the chest or throat, or trouble breathing.

What it looks like: Scabies is a skin infestation caused by a mite. Untreated, these microscopic mites can live on your skin for months. They reproduce on the surface of your skin and then burrow into it to lay eggs. This causes an itchy, red rash to form on your skin. The extremely itchy rash may be pimply, made up of tiny blisters, or scaly.

Symptoms to note: After the initial exposure to scabies, it can take 2 to 5 weeks for symptoms to appear. If you've had scabies before, the symptoms usually develop more quickly, often as soon as 1 to 4 days after exposure. The hallmark symptoms of scabies include a rash and intense itching that gets worse at night. Continuous scratching of the infected area can create sores that can become infected. If this occurs, reach out to your doctor; additional treatment with antibiotics for the skin infection may be needed.

What it looks like: Wasp stings can be uncomfortable, but most people, without wasp sting allergies, recover quickly and without complications. Typical wasp stings present as sharp pain, redness, swelling, and itching or burning at the sting site. Often, a raised welt will appear around the sting site. A tiny white mark may be visible in the middle of the welt where the stinger punctured your skin. Usually, the pain and swelling recedes within several hours of being stung.

Symptoms to note: More concerning reactions to wasp stings, that may indicate some level of allergy to the venom, include extreme redness and swelling that increases for two or three days after the sting. Nausea and vomiting can also occur. Most times, these reactions will subside on their own in about a week. You should let your doctor know right away if you have a more concerning reaction after a wasp sting.

Some people with more severe allergies to wasp stings may go into anaphylactic shock, which can be life threatening. If you experience any severe swelling of the face, lips, or throat; hives or itching in areas of the body not affected by the sting; breathing difficulties, such as wheezing or gasping; loss of consciousness; nausea or vomiting; or weak or racing pulse, seek emergency medical help immediately.

What it looks like: Similar to wasps and bees, when a yellow jacket stings you, it pierces your skin with its stinger and injects a poisonous venom that causes sudden pain. After being stung, you may also experience swelling or redness around the sting for a few hours. Fatigue, itching, and warmth around the injection site are also common symptoms people experience after a sting.

Symptoms to note: Some symptoms warrant emergency medical attention. These may include: coughing or wheezing; problems breathing or swallowing, or having tightness in your throat; changes to your skin, such as breaking out into hives; feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or passing out; or vomiting or diarrhea. These symptoms may indicate a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. If you or someone near you exhibits these symptoms, seek emergency medical help immediately.

What it looks like: The brown recluse spider, or violin spider, is about 1-inch long and has a violin-shaped mark on its upper back. It is often found in warm, dry climates and prefers to stay in undisturbed areas such as basements, closets, and attics. It is not an aggressive spider, but will attack if trapped or held against the skin. When the brown recluse bites, it is often painless—then skin reddens, turns white, develops a red “bull’s-eye,” blisters, and becomes painful. Venom from the brown recluse spider usually causes local tissue damage.

Symptoms to note: Moderate to severe pain and itching at the site of the bite is typical and usually occurs 2 to 8 hours after the spider has injected its venom. Rare complications include fever, body aches, nausea, vomiting, hemolytic anemia, rhabdomyolysis, and kidney failure. These bites can be deadly in rare cases. If you suspect that you’ve been bitten by a brown recluse, seek medical care immediately. If you can, bring the spider with you for positive identification.

What it looks like: Scorpions are eight-legged arachnids with large pincers and long, segmented, stinger-tipped tails carried in a forward curve over their backs. Several species with varying levels of toxicity can be found all over the world. These stings will quickly become red and swollen within minutes, usually accompanied with a great deal of pain.

Symptoms to note: Intense pain, tingling, numbness, and swelling usually occur around the sting. Rare symptoms include breathing difficulties, muscle twitching, drooling, sweating, nausea, vomiting, an increased heart rate, and restlessness (Note: severe symptoms are more likely in infants and children than adults.) Nevertheless, if you start to experience any severe symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.

What it looks like: Triatomine bugs, also called kissing bugs, tend to reside in Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the United States. While there are different varieties of kissing bugs, they typically have a cone-shaped head, can be light brown to black in color, and may have yellow, red, or tan markings. Kissing bugs tend to bite you on the face and near your mouth. These bites look like any other bug bite, except there’s usually a cluster of bites together in one spot.

Symptoms to note: People who are sensitive to the kissing bug’s saliva may experience a reaction to the bite. This is usually only mild itching, redness, and swelling around the bite area. Occasionally, a kissing bug bite causes a severe localized allergic reaction. If you develop a rash or any difficulty breathing, seek immediate medical attention.

What it looks like: Despite the scary name, Black Widows are nonaggressive and will only bite if they are being crushed. This spider is plump, black, and shiny, with an hourglass-shaped red mark on its abdomen. The bite area will typically appear red with a white center.

Symptoms to note: Black Widow bites cause muscle pain and spasms in the arms, legs, abdomen, and back. Tremor, sweating, weakness, chills, nausea, vomiting, and headache are other symptoms. The bite area is red with a white center.

What it looks like: This large (up to 2 inches long), fuzzy, gray/brown spider is native to many parts of the United States. But despite its intimidating name, this spider is nonaggressive and will only bite if it feels threatened. Wolf spiders usually leave fang-like marks on the skin, which may look slightly torn. These bites appear as a tender, itchy red bump that typically heals in seven to 10 days.

Symptoms to note: A wolf spider bite isn’t usually a cause for significant concern because they’re not venomous to humans. Some bites may cause redness, swelling, and ulcers. If your bite increases in size or you experience difficulty breathing, call your doctor right away.