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Unknown Bug.

Unknown Bug.
North Carolina, USA
July 15, 2007
After alittle hike in the woods, i came home and started itching. I gave one of my itching spot a shine with my LED flashlight and found this very tiny red bug. You could barely see it with the naked eye. That pic is the best i could get with my macro lens. Anyone have any idea on what this might be?

Moved from Mites and Ticks.

It's hard to find a group with more misinformation than velvet mites. This is indeed a trombidioid larva (ID: 6 legs, reddish, general body shape, etc.), but it's hard to tell more than that without better images... including whether it's one that bites humans at all.

I'm not discounting the annoying qualities of chiggers by any means, but just to clear a few things up:

There is no burrowing. The larva just bites you and secretes a tube around the chelicerae (called a stylostome). You aren't the preferred host (lizards and other small mammals) so either they just fall off or you scratch them off when they're crawling around or biting. All that's left once you start itching is the stylostome. There is no animal there, so don't try digging or chemically removing it. Just get some insect bite cream (I like Bandaid insect gel). Brooke's advice is sound.

tiny red bugs?
i am trying to find out what a small red bug that looks the same size as this but shaped differently like a seed has wings i suppose hard to see with the naked eye.. i was wearing a white shirt and they were all over it at first i thought it was tiny peices of lint from a red sweater its almost thread like and the ones that were crawling on my skin bite and leave tiny red spots...ive looked through all the red bugs and this is as close to them as i can get can anyone tell me what this might be they seem so show up on windy days if this hepls...

Looks like a chigger to me. They like to burrow down into a pore so that it's near impossible to dig them out.

Yep, it's a chigger. However, they need something to push against in order to burrow under the skin. That is why they are felt most around the belt line or the elastic part of socks. Kerosine gets rid of them but rinse off before covering or the burns will be worse than the bite.

Rod Camper

Don't put kerosene on your skin! Chiggers bite and inject fluid into your skin while feeding that can cause an allergic reaction that may last up to 2 weeks. Usually by the time you feel the itching, the chiggers are long gone. They are removed easily by bathing with soap and hot water so it's best to just shower after your hikes. Chiggers are mites but using an insect repellent before hiking may also prevent bites.

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