What's biting in Brazil right now
Bite activity in Brazil peaks August, November, December. December is the busiest month of the year at 16% of all records. Narrow yours down below, then confirm it with a photo in the app.
This page tells you what's around. The app tells you what bit you — photo in, likely species, severity read and a day-by-day care plan out.
Download free for iPhoneNarrow it down in three taps
Free · nothing to install to get a shortlistMost recorded in September
Answer 2 more for a sharper shortlist-
Mosquito bite Strongest match · 92%Single bumps scattered over exposed skin. Usually 1 to 3 days, sometimes a week in children.
Read the full profile → -
Bed bug bite Also possible · 93%Lines or zigzags of three or more — the classic "breakfast, lunch and dinner". Usually 1 to 2 weeks.
Read the full profile → - Flea bite Also possible · 84%
Clusters of three or four, or short irregular groups. Usually a few days; the itch can persist for weeks in sensitised people.
Read the full profile →
Photograph the bite in the app and it picks between these for you — with a severity read and what to do today. This page narrows the field; it does not diagnose you.
Confirm with a photoFree download · iPhone The year, month by month
Share of all recorded sightings in Brazil. Pick a month to re-run the shortlist above for that time of year.
From GBIF biodiversity records, snapshot 2026-09-14. Records track when people observe and report specimens — close to activity, not identical to how often anyone gets bitten. Methodology.
What actually bites you in Brazil
Honey bees top records like these because they are the most photographed insect on earth — read this as "definitely present here", not as a ranking of risk.
What is different about Brazil
Seasons are inverted: the peak runs October through April, with the rainy season driving both mosquitoes and scorpions. The urban bias is unusual — these are city problems, not bush problems.
Bed bugs, scabies and head lice ignore weather entirely — a bite pattern in the middle of Brazil's quiet season points there first, see what is biting me at night.
- Breathing trouble, or swelling of the lips, tongue or throat after a sting
- A red area that is spreading, hot and painful — especially with a red streak
- Fever, chills or feeling generally unwell in the days or weeks after a bite
- An expanding rash appearing 3 to 30 days after a tick bite
- A bite getting worse rather than better after 72 hours
SAMU is 192 for emergencies. Scorpion and spider envenomation is treated at hospital, and antivenom is available through the public system — for a child stung by a scorpion, go rather than wait.
The seasonal data behind this
Across 37,092 verified records for Brazil, biting and stinging activity concentrates in August, November, December — December alone accounts for 16% of sightings, and June is the quietest month of the year. Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, so this runs opposite to the European and North American season.
Brazil is the one market here where the most dangerous things are not the ones that itch. Scorpion stings run to well over a hundred thousand notified cases a year, concentrated in cities rather than the countryside, and children are the group at real risk. Dengue is the other defining feature: it is transmitted by a mosquito that bites in daylight, indoors, and breeds in a bottle cap of clean water.
| Month | Activity | Share | Mostly |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| February | 6% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| March | 6% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| April | 6% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| May | 6% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian recluse spider, Honey bee | |
| June | 5% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian recluse spider, Honey bee | |
| July | 7% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian recluse spider, Honey bee | |
| August | 11% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian recluse spider, Honey bee | |
| September | 9% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| October | 8% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| November | 14% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider | |
| December | 16% | Aedes mosquito, Brazilian yellow scorpion, Brazilian recluse spider |
Calculated from GBIF biodiversity records for Brazil, snapshot 2026-09-14. Records reflect when people observe and report specimens, which tracks activity closely but is not the same as how often anyone gets bitten. See our methodology.
Year-round regardless of season
Weather does not affect everything. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than temperature, so a bite pattern in the middle of Brazil's quiet season points to those first — see what is biting me at night.
Species linked to illness here
- Aedes mosquito bite — dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever
- Flea bite — murine typhus (Gulf Coast, California, Hawaii), cat scratch disease bacteria carried between cats, flea tapeworm (mainly in children who swallow a flea)
- Scabies rash — secondary bacterial skin infection is common from scratching
- Mosquito bite — West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, dengue (Gulf Coast and Southwest, local cases), chikungunya (rare, travel-linked)
Most bites transmit nothing. What matters is the follow-up: note the date, and report any fever or expanding rash in the weeks afterwards to a clinician, mentioning the bite and where you were.
Stings rather than bites
Brazilian yellow scorpion, Honey bee, Fire ant, Yellowjacket are recorded in Brazil. Stings differ from bites in one way that matters: they can cause anaphylaxis in sensitised people, and that risk does not depend on how mild previous stings looked. Anyone who has had a severe reaction should carry an adrenaline auto-injector.
Common questions
When are insect bites most common in Brazil?
Sighting records for Brazil concentrate in August, November, December, with December the single busiest month at 16% of all records. June is the quietest.
What bites people most often in Brazil?
By verified records the most frequently reported biting and stinging species are aedes mosquito, brazilian yellow scorpion, brazilian recluse spider, honey bee, fire ant.
Does the bite season really run over Christmas in Brazil?
Yes. Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, so the warm season runs from roughly October through April. Northern-hemisphere advice about a "summer peak in July" is six months out of step here.
Stop guessing from a table.
One photo → likely species, severity, and a care plan you can re-check as it heals.