What's biting in Canada right now
Bite activity in Canada peaks May to September. August is the busiest month of the year at 23% 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-
Bald-faced hornet sting Strongest match · 92%Often several — the colony defends aggressively. Usually swelling for several days.
Read the full profile → - Chigger bite Also possible · 86%
Clusters concentrated where clothing is tight. Usually 1 to 2 weeks of itch.
Read the full profile → -
Mosquito bite Also possible · 48%Single bumps scattered over exposed skin. Usually 1 to 3 days, sometimes a week in children.
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 Canada. 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 Canada
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 Canada
Short, intense season. Lyme risk is expanding north and is now a real consideration in the southern provinces rather than a US-only issue.
Bed bugs, scabies and head lice ignore weather entirely — a bite pattern in the middle of Canada'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
Call 911 for emergencies. Provincial telehealth lines (811 in most provinces) give nurse advice without a visit.
The seasonal data behind this
Across 82,419 verified records for Canada, biting and stinging activity concentrates in May to September — August alone accounts for 23% of sightings, and December is the quietest month of the year.
Canada has the shortest and most concentrated bite season of any country here — in much of the country it runs from late May to early September, and blackfly and mosquito pressure during those weeks can be extreme by any standard. The medically important change over the past two decades is northward: blacklegged ticks and Lyme disease have become established in southern Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and parts of Manitoba, in areas where they were previously absent.
| Month | Activity | Share | Mostly |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0% | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites | |
| February | 0% | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites | |
| March | 2% | Honey bee, Bed bug, Flea | |
| April | 5% | Honey bee, Carpenter ant, American dog tick | |
| May | 11% | Honey bee, Paper wasp, Carpenter ant | |
| June | 14% | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp | |
| July | 20% | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp | |
| August | 23% | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp | |
| September | 18% | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp | |
| October | 5% | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Yellowjacket | |
| November | 1% | Yellow sac spider, Bed bug, Flea | |
| December | 0% | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites |
Calculated from GBIF biodiversity records for Canada, 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 Canada's quiet season points to those first — see what is biting me at night.
Species linked to illness here
- American dog tick bite — Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, tick paralysis (rare, resolves on removal)
- Deer tick bite — Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus (rare)
- Mosquito bite — West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, dengue (Gulf Coast and Southwest, local cases), chikungunya (rare, travel-linked)
- Flea bite — murine typhus (Gulf Coast, California, Hawaii), cat scratch disease bacteria carried between cats, flea tapeworm (mainly in children who swallow a flea)
- Deer fly bite — tularemia (rare)
- Scabies rash — secondary bacterial skin infection is common from scratching
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
Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp, Carpenter ant, Yellowjacket are recorded in Canada. 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 Canada?
Sighting records for Canada concentrate in May to September, with August the single busiest month at 23% of all records. December is the quietest.
What bites people most often in Canada?
By verified records the most frequently reported biting and stinging species are honey bee, bald-faced hornet, paper wasp, carpenter ant, yellowjacket.
Do bites stop completely in winter in Canada?
No. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than weather and continue year-round. What stops is the outdoor season — mosquitoes, ticks, wasps and biting flies.
Stop guessing from a table.
One photo → likely species, severity, and a care plan you can re-check as it heals.