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Animal profile

Chigger

ArachnidaTall grass, scrub, berry patches and woodland edges in warm humid conditions

Field profile

Chiggers are the six-legged larvae of trombiculid mites, roughly 0.2 millimetres long and orange-red. Only the larval stage is parasitic; nymphs and adults are eight-legged predators of small soil arthropods and their eggs. Their bites cause intense itching.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-01-28

Chigger

Chiggers drink dissolved skin, not blood

A chigger does not burrow under the skin and does not feed on blood. It attaches at the surface, injects enzymes that liquefy skin cells, and drinks the resulting slurry through a hardened feeding tube that the body's own response helps build.

Read with evidence →

Chigger | Daily Animal Facts