BLOODSUCKERS

From nectar-drinking bees to carnivorous mantids, insects have a diverse assortment of mouth designs, particularly suited to their preferred diet. Bloodsucker pests can pierce the skin of their prey, inject an anticoagulant or blood thinner, and suck up the protein-rich blood, all with different parts of their mouths. While the most common bloodsucker insects are flies, other groups of insects, such as true bugs and even some moths (Lepidoptera), have blood-feeding behaviors. The most common ones we know and loathe are ticks, bed bugs, chiggers, and the dreaded mosquito. Click into specific bugs and to learn a little more about these skin-piercing pests.