For example, the minute pirate bug is an important predator of corn earworm eggs in corn fields. Minute pirate bugs are present all summer in fields, woodlands, gardens and landscapes. They quietly go about their business without anyone taking notice until late in the summer when they migrate from fields and woodlands and begin the disagreeable behavior of biting humans. Their bite is surprisingly painful for such a small insect as they probe their short blaunt beak into the skin. They do not feed on blood or inject a venom or saliva.
People differ in their response to pirate bug bites.
Bites on some swell up like a mosquito bite, some turn red and for others there is no reaction at all. One consolation - minute pirate bugs are not quick to fly following biting, so the victim usually has the satisfaction of removing the offender from the ranks of the living. Control of minute pirate bugs is not practical, in part, because their presence and abundance is temporary and variable from year to year. Further, widespread control is not desirable because of the beneficial role they have in the environment. Wearing dark clothing on very warm days when pirate bugs are abundant may help.