What bit me in Texas?
22 biting or stinging species have verified records in Texas. The fastest way to narrow it down is where on your body the marks are and how they are arranged — below the knee in clusters points to fleas or chiggers, lines on uncovered skin point to bed bugs, scattered single bumps point to mosquitoes. Bite season here runs roughly February to December.
Active around now in Texas
- Honey bee
- Fire ant
- Carpenter ant
- Black widow spider
- Kissing bug
- Brown recluse spider
- Horsefly
- Wolf spider
- American dog tick
- Lone star tick
Recorded biting species in Texas
| Species | Looks like | Where on body | Records | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey bee sting | single | feet — bees are often stepped on in clover, hands | 45,265 | April, May, October |
| Fire ant sting | multiple stings in a ring or cluster — the ant grips and pivots | feet, ankles | 11,723 | January, March, April, May |
| Carpenter ant bite | single or a few | hands, arms | 2,546 | March, April, May, September |
| Black widow spider bite | single site | hands, forearms | 1,725 | April to July |
| Kissing bug bite | clusters, often on the face near the lips or eyes | face, lips | 1,487 | June to September |
| Brown recluse spider bite | single site | torso under clothing, upper arms | 1,150 | April to July |
| Horsefly bite | single, occasionally two | legs, back | 1,146 | June to September |
| Wolf spider bite | single site | hands, feet | 631 | April, May, June, October |
| American dog tick bite | single | scalp, neck | 357 | April to June |
| Lone star tick bite | single, sometimes dozens at once when larval "seed ticks" swarm | legs, waist | 334 | April to June |
| Chigger bite | clusters concentrated where clothing is tight | ankles, behind the knees | 326 | May, July, August, September |
| Deer tick bite | single, usually in a skin fold or hairline | groin, armpits | 157 | February, March, November, December |
| Flea bite | clusters of three or four, or short irregular groups | ankles, shins | 118 | March, May, July |
| Yellow sac spider bite | single, sometimes two nearby | neck, arms | 110 | April to June |
| Bed bug bite | lines or zigzags of three or more — the classic "breakfast, lunch and dinner" | arms, shoulders | 65 | January, April, July, December |
| Bald-faced hornet sting | often several — the colony defends aggressively | head, neck | 61 | August to November |
| Deer fly bite | single or a few, often on the scalp and neck | scalp, neck | 47 | April to May |
| Head lice bites | concentrated behind the ears and at the nape | scalp, behind the ears | 23 | July |
| Bark scorpion sting | single site | hands, feet — commonly a bare foot at night or a hand into a stored item | 11 | April, May, July, August |
| Paper wasp sting | usually single | hands, head | 7 | June to September |
| Mosquito bite | single bumps scattered over exposed skin | ankles, lower legs | 6 | June to September |
| Scabies rash | symmetrical, in finger webs, wrists, waistline, armpits and groin | finger webs, wrists | 5 | July |
Record counts come from the GBIF biodiversity database and reflect how often a species is reported and identified in Texas. They are a guide to what is plausible here, not a census — and they say nothing about how likely you are to be bitten indoors.
Bite season month by month
Of the 22 species recorded in Texas, 22 are active in June — the peak of the local season. The subtropical to arid climate here is what sets those boundaries: species that need warmth disappear at the edges of the year, while the indoor ones do not care.
| Month | Species active | Notably |
|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | Bed bug, Head lice bites, Scabies |
| February | 3 | Bed bug, Head lice bites, Scabies |
| March | 8 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Lone star tick |
| April | 16 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| May | 21 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| June | 22 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| July | 22 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| August | 22 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| September | 20 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant |
| October | 15 | Honey bee, Fire ant, Black widow spider |
| November | 6 | Fire ant, Flea, Yellow sac spider |
| December | 3 | Bed bug, Head lice bites, Scabies |
Narrowing it down in three questions
- Where on your body? Below the knee in clusters points to fleas or chiggers. Uncovered skin — arms, shoulders, neck — points to bed bugs or mosquitoes. Along a sock line or waistband is close to diagnostic for chiggers.
- How are they arranged? A line or zigzag of three or more suggests bed bugs. Scattered single bumps suggest mosquitoes. A curved group with white pustules the next day means fire ants.
- Indoors or outdoors, and when? Bites that appear overnight in one specific bed are a different problem from bites after an afternoon in tall grass. In Texas the outdoor season runs February to December; the indoor species run all year.
Stings rather than bites in Texas
Honey bee, Fire ant, Carpenter ant, Bald-faced hornet, Paper wasp are recorded here. Stings differ from bites in one way that matters: they can cause anaphylaxis in sensitised people, and that risk does not depend on how bad previous stings looked. Anyone who has had a severe reaction should carry an adrenaline auto-injector.
Species associated with illness here
- Kissing bug bite — Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) — rare in the United States but the reason this bite is taken seriously
- American dog tick bite — Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, tick paralysis (rare, resolves on removal)
- Lone star tick bite — ehrlichiosis, Heartland virus, tularemia, STARI, alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy)
- Deer tick bite — Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus (rare)
- Flea bite — murine typhus (Gulf Coast, California, Hawaii), cat scratch disease bacteria carried between cats, flea tapeworm (mainly in children who swallow a flea)
Most bites from these species transmit nothing. What matters is the follow-up: note the date of the bite, and report any fever or expanding rash in the following weeks to a clinician, mentioning the bite explicitly.
Seek medical care if
Call emergency services now for difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, dizziness or fainting, or hives spreading away from the bite.
- difficulty breathing, 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 that is getting worse rather than better after 72 hours
Year-round in Texas
Weather does not affect everything. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than season, so a bite pattern in January in Texas points to those first — see what is biting me at night.
Get a photo assessment in the app
Everything above is free to read. The app adds what a page cannot: point your camera at the bite and get an assessment of the most likely cause, a severity read, and a day-by-day care plan — including the specific signs that mean you should be seen.
iPhone and iPad. Free to download.