Article Translations: (Spanish)
Insect bites differ from insect stings. A bite is when an insect (like a mosquito, flea, or bedbug) uses its mouth to break a person’s skin, usually so it can feed. Insect bites usually itch. A sting is when an insect uses another body part, such as a barbed stinger at its tail end, to pierce the skin and inject venom (like a poison). They usually do this in self-defense. Stings are more painful than bites.
Insects that can sting include:
Bees: These fuzzy insects feed on flowers. There are thousands of different types of bees, and they can be many different colors. The most familiar kind is the honeybee. These bees build nests out of wax in old trees and manmade hives. They collect nectar and pollen from flowers, then turn it into honey for food.
Wasps: While closely related to bees, wasps are not fuzzy. They’re smoother and have skinnier bodies. Wasps eat other insects, spiders, or human food (which is why they often hang around picnics or compost piles). Their nests are papery and made from chewed-up wood fibers.
Ants: These small insects can be brown, black, or red. Some have wings and others don't. Some ants can sting, like the fire ant. Fire ants are tiny and reddish-brown and live in underground nests.
A sting site:
Wasps and many bees can sting more than once because they can pull out their stinger without injuring themselves. Honeybees have special hooks on their stinger that keep it in the skin after they sting someone. The stinger is torn out of the bee's body as it tries to fly away. As a result, the honeybee dies after stinging.
A person who’s stung by a fire ant will feel a sharp pain and burning. Someone who steps on a fire ant mound will get a lot of stings at once because the ants are disturbed where they all live together. Each sting will turn into an itchy white blister over the next day.
Insect stings can cause temporary discomfort and pain, but most don’t lead to serious or lasting health problems.
Here’s how to handle a sting at home:
Get medical care if:
Use an epinephrine auto-injector if it's available and call 911 if you see any signs of a serious or potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, such as
To protect your family from bee, wasp, and ant stings:
Parents should know the signs of an infection or allergic reaction, and when to get medical care. If your child has a history of insect sting problems, tell all caregivers so they know what to do if a bee or wasp sting happens.
If your child had an allergic reaction to a bee or wasp sting in the past, talk to the doctor about a prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
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