Identification & Types > Biting & Stinging Insects
Biting and stinging insects are big problem in Tennessee. They can be split into two categories - venomous and non-venomous. Also, there is difference between the two types: Biting vs. Stinging.
Non-venomous insects bite in order to feed on your blood or skin. Typically, these bites produce local irritation and allergic reactions to the saliva and anti-coagulants. Venomous insects attack, however, inject painful, toxic venom through their stings. When bees sting, they leave the stinger and venom sack attached. Venom continues to pump in through the stinger until the sack is empty or the stinger is r
emoved.
Biting insects don’t often cause allergic reactions. However, they can spread diseases like Malaria, Yellow Fever, Lyme disease, Typhus, and Encephalitis.
Carpenter Bee
SIZE: Up to 1 1/2 inches
COLOR: Dark-colored with yellow markings on top
DESCRIPTION: Carpenter bees are large bees, resembling bumble bees. They are heavy-bodied and metallic blue-black with green or purplish highlights. The bodies are covered with bright yellow or orange hairs.
HABITAT: These insects build their nests in wood siding, the ends of lo
gs used in modern log houses, or other areas where bare or painted wood is exposed
LIFE CYCLE: The males and females cut a one-half inch hole into the wood, then create a tunnel parallel to the surface of the wood. Within the tunnel the female stores food and lays eggs. The developing carpenter bee larvae are in individual cells in the tunnel. There is usually only one generation per year.
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Cut holes in wood; yellow sawdust containing waste materials leaves unsightly stains. Also, woodpeckers will sometimes "peck" into the galleries to eat the larvae; thus, causing more damage to the wood.
PREVENTION: Control of these insects can be achieved by spraying the entrance hole with an aerosol insecticide and plugging it with wood putty to prevent adults from returning.
INTERESTING FACTS: Females are quite docile, but can sting. Males are aggressive, but cannot sting.
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Cicada Killer / Ground Hornet
SIZE: These wasps reach up to 1-½ inch in length.
COLOR: Black/reddish in color with yellow markings
DESCRIPTION: Adult cicada killer wasps are long, robust wasps with reddish and black areas on the thorax and are black/ reddish brown marked with light yellow stripes on the abdominal segments. The wings are brownish. Coloration may superficially resemble that of yellowjackets or hornets. The females are larger than the males, and both are among the largest wasps
seen in Tennessee. Hornets are often mistaken for cicada killers.
HABITAT:Cicada killers nest in sandy and loose soil areas, digging burrows about 6 - 12 inches in the ground.These tunnelsare usually branched and end in one or more gallaries. Females are solitary, each provisioning their own nests even though they appear to be nesting in a common area. Cicada killers are active during June - August, coinciding with the appearance of cicadas which they attack, sting and paralyze. They then fly, glide or drag the cicadas back to their nests, provisioning the cells in their burrows. Larvae feed only on cicadas, and the adult will feed on flower nectar.
LIFE CYCLE: During the winter, the larval or pupae develop. Adults emerge in the summer, feed, mate and produce new nesting burrows. The female provisions each cell in the burrow with one or more paralyzed cicadas on which an egg is deposited, and then seals it. The larva hatches from the egg develops through several molts before pupating inside a woven, spindle-shaped brown case measuring up to 1 1/4 inch long. One generation occurs per year
INTERESTING FACTS:
- Females are capable of stinging, they are rarely aggressive towards man or animals.
- Males are incapable of stinging, but can be more aggressive.
- Large numbers of females nesting in localized areas such as sandy embankments can be a nuisance and cause concern because of their large size, low flight and nesting activities.
- Nest entrances are often accompanied by a pile of soil excavated from the burrow that may disturb grass
Honey Bee
SIZE: 2/5 to 3/5 inches (Workers).
COLOR: Golden brown and black markings.
DESCRIPTION: The honey bee is covered with short, dense hair, usually golden-brown and black, and its abdomen is striped. There are three types of honey bees in the colony: workers (2/5 to 3/5 inch long), drones (3/4 to 5/8 inch long), and the queen (3/5 to ¾ inch long). 
HABITAT: Around flowers and other flowering vegetation.
LIFE CYCLE: The queen is responsible for reproduction. The drones are fertile male bees that mate with new queens. The workers are sterile females responsible for feeding the queen, maintaining the hive, gathering the pollen and nectar, and protecting the hive.
MEDICAL ADVICE:
- When stung by a bee, immediately remove the stinger by gently scraping the stinger with a fingernail or knife.
- Next, wash the sting site with soap and water.
- Apply ice to minimize pain and swelling.
- For normal sting reactions, a solution of ½ teaspoon meat tenderizer dissolved in 1 teaspoon water can be applied to the skin to relieve discomfort.
- If you experience anything more than a localized, normal reaction, and/or difficulty breathing - seek medical attention immediately.
REMOVAL FROM BUILDINGS: When honey bees establish a nest in your house, you need to hire a certified beekeeper. Untended honey will decompose and seep out of the comb, causing odor problems and staining walls. Likewise, other pest infestation may occur by flies, ants, beetles, cockroaches and other insects.
Africanized ("Killer") Bees
SIZE: 2/5 to 3/5 inches (Workers).
COLOR: Golden-yellow with darker bands of brown
DESCRIPTION: Africanized "killer" bees looks so much like a regular honeybee that the only way to tell the two apart is by measuring their bodies. Africanized bees have different wing measurements than honeybees.
Africanized honey bees are less predictable and more defensive than European honey bees. They are more likely to defend a greater area around their nest. They respond faster and in greater numbers although each bee can sting only once.
HABITAT: Africanized bees have small colonies, so they can build nests in unique places. They have been known to live in tires, crates, b
oxes, and empty cars.
LIFE CYCLE: The queen is responsible for reproduction. The drones are fertile male bees that mate with new queens. The workers are sterile females responsible for feeding the queen, maintaining the hive, gathering the pollen and nectar, and protecting the hive.
FACTS:
- Respond quickly and sting in large numbers
- Can sense a threat from people or animals 50 feet or more from the nest
- Sense vibrations from power equipment 100 feet or more from nest
- Will pursue an enemy ¼ mile or more
- Swarm frequently to establish new nests
- Nest in small cavities and sheltered areas
- As of 2008, Africanized ("Killer") Bees can be found in AZ, CA, NM, NV, & TX.
Mosquitoes
SIZE: 1/4 to 1/2 inch
COLOR: Brown
DESCRIPTION: Thin, long-legged winged insect; adults have three pairs of long, slender legs. Mosquitoes have an elongate "beak" or piercing proboscis
HABITAT: Most remain close to the lake, pond, or clogged g
utter they lived in as larvae. Excess rain in the spring will provide plenty of breeding places for mosquitoes.
LIFE CYCLE: Adult female (only!) mosquitoes seek a blood meal so they can produce a new patch of eggs.
Eggs, pupae and larvae must have water to develop. Larvae feed on bits of organic matter in the water, becoming full grown in about one week. The pupal stage lasts two to three days.
CONTROL: Homeowners should carefully inspect their house (gutters) and yard (bird bath, old tires, buckets) for standing water - then dump it!
INTERESTING FACTS:
- Male antennas are much hairier than females. The purpose of these hairs is to attract females to mate.
- Males do not attack humans and animals but feed on plant nector.
- “Mosquito” is a Spanish or Potrugese word meaning “little fly”.
- Some mosquitoes are capable of transmitting diseases such as the West Nile Virus, which has been found in the Nashville & Middle Tennessee areas.
Paper Wasp
SIZE: 5/8 to 1 inch
COLOR: Reddish-brown with a yellow circle
DESCRIPTION: Paper wasps have longer legs and slenderer bodies than yellow jackets and hornets. Their abdomen taper at both ends. Paper wasps are sometimes called "umbrella wasps" because their nests consist of a single exposed comb suspended by a narrow stalk. 
HABITAT: Paper wasps may be more inclined to build nests in attics than yellow jackets or hornets because their nests lack an outer covering.
LIFE CYCLE: Similar to other social wasps, paper wasps abandon their nests in the autumn, with the mated queens overwintering. A queen killed in the fall or early spring will eliminate an entire nest during the summer.
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Can give a severe sting
Velvet Ant
Size: 1/4 - 1 inch
COLOR: Red and black
DESCRIPTION: Velvet ants are medium-sized, red and black insects that resemble ants, but are more closely related to wasps. Their bodies are densely clothed with red and black hairs that give the insect a velvety appearance. The wingless females (males are winged and rarely seen) can infli
ct a nasty sting, and can make a squeaking noise when captured.
LIFE CYCLE: The female velvet ant invades a nest of wasps or bumblebees and lays eggs in the cells of the host. The velvet ant larvae kills and eats the host bee pupa.
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Can sting
INTERESTING FACTS: These insects are parasitic on wasps and bees.
Fire Ant
DESCRIPTION
Imported Fire Ants look very much like ordinary ants. They are between a 1/10" inch and a 1/4" of an inch in size with an array of many sizes within this range and reddish brown to black in color. Imported Fire Ants are 
very aggressive when disturbed and cause a painful sting that produces a small white pustule about 8-24 hours following the sting.
HABITAT
Fire ant colonies build mounds that may be 10 inches or more in height, 15 inches or more in diameter, and 3 feet or more in depth. Sometimes these mounds can be wrapped around shrubs and other vegetation, even dead trees and/or stumps.
In slab foundations, fire ants can nest indoors in wall voids by entering the structure from below and following plumbing lines in. Bath traps, shower stalls, and hot water heater walls are well suited areas for fire ants.
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Control Strategies
The key to fire ant control is to locate all mounds and treat them - and call ArmaXX Pest Control!
Yellow Jacket
SIZE: 5/8 to 1 inch
COLOR: Black and yellow or black and white
DESCRIPTION: Yellowjackets are wasps with a definite waist. They fold their wings lengthwise when at rest. Like all wasps, yellowjackets prey on a wide variety of insects. Yellowjackets also forage on foods consumed by people, especially sweets and meats. 
HABITAT: Yellowjacket wasps are often pests in recreational areas during the late summer until early autumn.
LIFE CYCLE: In the fall, wasp colonies have reached their largest size, and in the vicinity of numerous colonies, foraging workers may become serious pests as they search for food-usually food that is discarded by people
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Can sting
CONTROL: Trash containers should be kept closed (lid) whenever possible; open containers should be emptied regularly.
Chiggers
A chigger or red bug is an immature stage (larvae) of the harvest 
mite. These microscopic mites are close relatives of ticks, measuring 1/100 of an inch and have a red-orange hue. Unseen to most, chiggers may not be noticed aside from the itchy, festering red welts left on lower legs and ankles. Chiggers that attach to humans usually die within 24 to 72 hours.
BIOLOGY
The harvest mite goes through four stages of development: egg, larva, nymph and adult. The development from egg to adults takes about eight weeks. Once the egg hatches, the parasitic larvae finds a good position on tall grass or other vegetation so it can spring onto a passing human or animal. After feeding for two to four days, the larvae drop from the host, undergo a molting process,
and become nymphs. Nymph and adult harvest mites feed mostly on plant life and don't bother humans or other mammals. The life cycle is about 50 to 70 days, with adult females living up to one year and producing offspring during this time. Multiple generations occur in warmer climates, especially in the Tennessee.
CHIGGER FACTS:
- Chiggers do not burrow into the skin or suck blood. It attaches to its host, injects digestive enzymes into the bite wound, and then sucks up the digested tissue
- Warm, rainy days make these parasitic and predatory mites reproduce into large populations.
- Once the ground temperature is regularly above 60°F, the harvest mite lays eggs, and “chigger season” is underway. This season typically begins in April and ends in the early autumn/first “frost.”
- Chiggers do not like sunlight or humidity. During the wet season, chiggers are usually found in tall grass and other vegetation.
CHIGGER MYTHS
- Applying finger nail polish to red bumps/bites on our skin does not help. By the time the severe itching occurs, the chigger is nowhere found.
- Chiggers do not drink blood. Chiggers drink liquefied skin cells.
- These pests are mites, not insects.
- The red welt/bump on skin is not where a chigger laid eggs.
CHIGGER PREVENTION
- Keep grass short.
- Remove brush and wood debris where potential mite hosts may live.
- Keep major host away from the area, such as - rodents and other small mammals. Secure trash cans to discourage wildlife from coming near your home.
- Sunlight that penetrates the grass will make the lawn drier and make it less favorable for chigger survival.
CHIGGER BITE MEDICAL TREATMENT
To reduce discomfort, apply an anti-itch cream that contains hydrocortisone, benzyl benzoate, or calamine. Some people may be sensitive to these medications, so if you have questions, be sure to ask your health-care professional or pharmacist.
FLEAS
There are about 2,200 species of fleas in the world. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felix, is the most commonly found flea in the US and infests cats, dogs, birds, humans, and other mammals. When a flea bites a human, it causes a slightly raised, red, itching spot on the skin. The flea can jump approximately one foot high. Due to the flea’s unique life cycle, flea treatments usually require more than on visit by an ArmaXX technician.
FLEA LIFE CYCLE
Egg
Females lay 4-8 eggs after each blood meal, laying some roughly 600 eggs during their lifetime. The eggs are deposited between ha
irs, or in bedding material. In effect, eggs deposited on the animal either fall and/or shaken off the host. The egg typically rows into cracks and crevices where pets frequent. Eggs are oval, whitish, and about 1/64" long. They usually hatch in 1-12 days.
Larva
The larvae are blind and prefer dark places. The humidity levels are a major factor in the larvae growth pattern. Higher humidity results in faster development – roughly 1-2 weeks. Lower humidity causes a slower development rate - taken several months before the next stage. In fact, larvae fail to develop at temperatures below 55 degrees F and at or above 95 degrees F. Their food source consists of adult flea feces, hair, skin, and other organic matter. The larvae are usually hidden in carpet fibers, furniture cushions, and beddings.
Pupa
The pupa matures to adult within a cocoon which usually consists of carpet fibers, pet hair, and other debris. Typically, the adult flea will emerge in 1 – 2 weeks from the cocoon. Adults emerge from the cocoon by human/pet movement, increased heat, noise, and vibrations. Pupae are typically found where the animal sleeps or frequents
Adult
Female fleas lay up to twenty eggs per day. Adults usually seek a blood meal on the second day of emergence, but can live for several months without eating. Once on a host, they rarely leave - unless shaken off. Adults can live up to two months or one year without eating; however, they cannot survive without blood.
FLEA HEALTH CONCERNS
- Cat fleas may transmit plague and murine typhus.
- Dog & rodent tapeworm occasionally infest humans, especially very young children.
FLEA CONTROL
- Treat pets with Frontline or K9 Advantix or other products recommended by animal care specialists.
- Wash pet beddings often with hot water.
- Vacuum areas which pet frequent, including beddings and underneath cushions.
- Cracks and crevices near baseboards should be vacuumed as well.
Bed Bugs
Have you ever heard,” Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite?” For the past 50 years, this nursery rhyme was considered outdated, but now – bedbugs are back! According to the Univ
ersity of Tennessee, bed bug pest control service calls increased “500 percent in 2003” and ‘increased 20 percent’ the following year – and the problem is getting worse. Bed bugs are being found in expensive hotels, apartments, mansions and dormitories in nearly every state in the country. For many pest control companies, bed bugs are creating more callbacks than all other target pests.
Why the resurgence of bedbugs? In Asia, Africa, India, Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America , bed bugs are still a major issue. Foreign travelers bring these bugs into the United States via luggage, clothes, furniture, and other common items.
DESCRIPTION
The bed bug is a reddish-brown insect that doesn't grow much longer than 0.2 inches (0.5 centimeters). They feed on human blood at night, often leaving an itching lump as a result of a bite. Bed bugs inject an anticoagulant to keep your blood flowing as they suck, along with a numbing agent to keep you from feeling the bite. If the bite is detected, the person may notice a very “slight twinge of pain” that quickly disappears
BED BUG HABITAT
Bed bugs take shelter near their host - around bedrooms and sleeping areas. They prefer to breed and hide in the following areas:
- Cracks and crevices of headboards, bed frames and mattresses.
- Seams of mattresses; under plastic boxspring corner covers; insid
e mattress coils; and in cracks in bed frames. - Bedside furniture and dressers, wall boards and wood paneling;
- In clutter under the bed; under door and window frames; behind pictures; under loose wallpaper;
- Under the edges of wall-to-wall carpeting, baseboards and other wood molding; in ceiling-wall junctures;
- Inside clothing stored in closets and dressers; inside lamps, clocks, phones, televisions.
- Smoke detectors can serve as a breeding ground for bedbugs.
Bed bugs may travel from an attic to a living area through lights and ceiling fans – including, light switches, wall outlet and/or pipe penetrations.
BED BUG LIFE CYCLE
Typically a female will deposit up to five eggs per day and lay roughly 200 to 500 eggs during her life. About a week later, a nymph will emerge from the egg. After taking at least one blood meal, the nymph molts, and will go through five stages called instars before becoming an adult. To grow from an egg to an adult bed bug, it will take roughly one month. Adults can live several months to more than a year.
BED BUG CONTROL
Bed bug control is a challenge even for professional pest control companies. Disassembling the infected areas is necessary, such as - removing mattresses, boxsprings, pictures, furniture, and bedding material. Treating the items with an approved pest control material is necessary. Since bed bugs hide in wall voids, drilling the walls and injecting with a pesticide dust is often recommended. Vacuuming the beds and furniture will help remove eggs. According to the University of Tennessee, steaming cleaning the seams, “crevices and folds of mattresses, box springs, sofas, love seats, chairs and other furniture should kill all eggs, nymphs and adult bed bugs contacted.” Washing the bedding and clothes in”hot water – at 120 degrees F minimum” should kill the bed bugs.