What are bites and stings?
• Stings are used by some insects such as bees and wasps to protect themselves. They inject a painful poison into a person’s skin through their stinger. When bees sting they leave the stinger with the poison pouch attached in the skin of the person who has been stung, so more poison can keep going into the skin until it is all gone or the stinger is removed. • Some insects feed on blood from animals or people. Bites from these insects are usually not poisonous, eg mosquitoes, fleas, lice, bed bugs. • Some biting insects can spread some diseases such as Ross River Virus, encephalitis and malaria. • Note: HIV/AIDS has not been transmitted by biting insects.
