Chigger (Berry Bug, Harvest Mite)

Tall grass, weeds, berry patches, and woodland edges with damp soil and thick vegetation.

Larvae feed on skin cells and lymph fluid of hosts; adults feed on insect eggs and small arthropods.

The parasitic larvae attach to a host and inject digestive enzymes that liquefy skin cells for consumption. They do not burrow into skin or suck blood.

Cause intense itching and red welts (chigger bites) in humans. While generally not disease vectors in North America, they can transmit scrub typhus in other regions. Ecosystem benefit as they are a food source for larger insects.