Bug bites are common in warmer weather. Have you been exposed to a biting bug? Is it a midge bite? There may be a way to tell.
Midges, otherwise known as gnats, travel in swarms looking for their next prey.
The blood-sucking insects can home in on carbon dioxide sources from up to 200 metres away, according to insect repellant brand Mosi-guard.
And an average human breathes out around 500 litres of carbon dioxide every day, says Science Focus Magazine.
They feed on your skin for up to four minutes – and you’re unlikely to feel a thing, at the time.
Afterwards, the small, itchy bumps that surface can be a tell-tale sign you’ve been bitten.
That, and you may be able to see a small hole within the lump.
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For those particularly sensitive to insect bites, you may develop fluid-filled blisters or weals surrounding the bite.
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What causes these bodily reactions?
When midges bite you, they pump an anti-coagulant into the wound.
This thins the blood and prevents blood clots from forming.
The human immune system then responds to this anti-coagulant, which creates the itching and swelling.
As immune responses are individual, this explains how people react differently to being bitten by the same thing.
Source: Daily Express
