Bugging You From San Juan Island

I may have used this title before, so I’ll have to double check, and perhaps since I get this query frequently I will go back and edit with a numerical system or something like that.

So in this video, I am receiving a bite from 1) a mosquito? 2) a tick? or 3) a thrips? or 4) a bug?

If you chose option 4, a bug, you are correct. Indeed it is a bug, but not just any kind of bug. It is a bug in that it falls into the insect order Hemiptera (the true bugs). This “bug” is a species named Campyloneura virgula, a type of plant bug in the family Miridae.

It’s not the first time one has bitten me either, though most of my reactive bites on San Juan Island have been from thrips in the summertime when it is super dry and they are looking for moisture. I react badly to thrips bites. My husband says they are so small you can’t even see them. I think he really believes I am imagining them, but hey, I’m the entomologist in our family, right?

They’re not imaginary.

Neither is this biter. You can see the action on my ankle for yourself.

Then read the reference material and watch out for ankle biters in your yard.

References

Thomas J. Henry “First Eastern North American Records of Campyloneura virgula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae),” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 114(1), 159-163, (1 January 2012). https://bioone.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-entomological-society-of-washington/volume-114/issue-1/082.114.0101/First-Eastern-North-American-Records-of-Campyloneura-virgula-Hemiptera/10.4289/082.114.0101.short#:~:text=It%20also%20is%20known%20to,(Lattin%20and%20Stonedahl%201984).

Zarrabi Ahrabi, Salar & Şakacı, Zafer & Akyıldız, Gürkan & Gargili, Ayşen & Talay, Şengül & Kar, Sirri. (2024). Human Biting Plant Bug Campyloneura virgula (Hemiptera: Miridae): First Case Report in Türkiye. Clinical and Experimental Health Sciences. 10.33808/clinexphealthsci.1268203. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381681450_Human_Biting_Plant_Bug_Campyloneura_virgula_Hemiptera_Miridae_First_Case_Report_in_Turkiye