How to Identify an Insect Based on the Mark of Its Sting

The type of wound or skin rash you develop following an insect sting can be used to identify the insect concerned. Also, while it may be difficult, careful observation of what the insect does immediately after stinging you can also help to identify it. If you have been stung by an insect and you feel that its identification may be useful for the physician who attends to the wound, you should take the following steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Observe the site of the sting at regular intervals following the incident in order to see what develops on the surrounding skin.

2. Look for hives developing more or less immediately and a pustules developing as much as a day later to identify the insect sting as that of a fire ant.
   
   

3. Look for swelling and redness, possibly covering a large wide area surrounding the sting site. This will most likely identify the sting as that of a wasp or bee.
   
   

4. Look for blue or purple areas surrounding the wound. This will indicate that it is possibly a bite from a brown recluse spider or a black widow spider.

5. Look for slow-healing skin ulcerations that result in scarring. This will indicate that it is probably a bite from a spider.

Tips & Warnings

• If the insect flies away after stinging you, it is likely to be a wasp, which can sting repeatedly without harm to itself. A bee will most likely not fly away after stinging you.
• Be alert near hot-dog or hamburger stands, or during picnics.
• Public trash cans in parks will often have yellow jackets buzzing close by, so avoid throwing in trash carelessly as this could make you the object of their annoyance.
• Insect stings can lead to anaphylactic shock in a small percentage of those who get stung. This is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical treatment. Signs to look out for include difficult or abnormal breathing, a tightness around the chest and throat, dizziness and nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, heart palpitations and an itchiness of the skin.
• Loud buzzing or rasping sounds can cause insects to attack. Avoid using a chainsaw or a lawnmower if there are insect nests with active insects around it nearby.

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