--- title: Bites, stings and scratches: mosquitoes, wasps, ticks, dog bites and cat scratches — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Bites, stings and scratches: mosquitoes, wasps, ticks, dog bites and cat scratches», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A summer night, an open window, and in the morning your arm is covered in itchy red bum --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / Bites, stings and scratches: mosquitoe… # Bites, stings and scratches: mosquitoes, wasps, ticks, dog bites and cat scratches Lesson 399 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 19 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/0/) — A summer night, an open window, and in the morning your arm is covered in itchy red bumps. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/1/) — A mosquito had dinner while you slept, and the itch is your body reacting to its spit. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/2/) — Most bites and stings are animals defending themselves or feeding: a bee stings when squashed, a dog bites when it is scared or someone takes its bone, a cat scratches when its tail is pulled. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/3/) — Almost all of them warn you first, if you know how to read the signs. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/4/) — The best protection is respect: do not grab, squeeze or corner animals, ask the owner before stroking a dog, leave nests alone and check your skin after walks in long grass. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/5/) — And after any bite or sting, the first step is always the same: tell a grown-up straight away. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/6/) — A grown-up decides whether it needs a wash and a cool cloth, a doctor or an emergency call. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/7/) — Only female mosquitoes bite, because they need blood to make their eggs; their spit keeps the blood runny so it does not clot, and our body reacts to the spit with an itchy bump, which scratching makes itch even more. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/8/) — A mosquito's mouth is not one needle but six thin parts working together. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/9/) — A honeybee's sting has barbs and stays in the skin, so the bee dies after stinging, while a wasp's sting is smooth and can sting again; a grown-up scrapes a bee sting out with a fingernail or card, and cold water and a cool cloth help. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/10/) — A few people have a strong allergic reaction to stings that can swell the face and make breathing hard; that is an emergency, and in Ukraine and across Europe the emergency number is 112. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/11/) — A tick bite usually does not hurt, so ticks are often found later; a grown-up should take one out close to the skin with a tick tool, and a spreading red ring days later means a doctor should check it. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/12/) — Most dog bites happen with dogs people know, often when the dog is eating, sleeping or hurt; growling, a stiff body and showing teeth are warnings that mean back off. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/13/) — Always ask the owner before stroking a dog, and let the dog sniff you first. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/14/) — Cats scratch and bite when scared or hurt and usually warn first with flattened ears and a swishing tail; a scratch should be washed with soap and water, and a doctor should look if it swells, gets hot or the person feels ill. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/15/) — Horseflies cut the skin with blade-like mouthparts and lap up the blood, so the bite hurts more than a mosquito's; they are drawn to dark moving things and warm bodies. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/16/) — Red wood ants bite and spray a stinging acid from their back end to defend their nest mounds, which can hold hundreds of thousands of ants; it stings but is not dangerous. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/17/) — Almost all spiders in Ukraine and Europe are harmless to people, most cannot even bite through our skin, and they bite only when trapped or squeezed; a spider has two fangs, eight legs and often eight eyes. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/399-bites-stings-and-scratches-mosquitoes-wasps-ticks-dog-bites-and-cat-scratches/18/) — After any bite or sting, tell a grown-up straight away, wash with soap and water and keep the hurt part still and cool; never try to catch or kill the animal, a photo from a safe distance is enough. - ← previous: [Poo, wee and smells: rabbits that eat their droppings, dung beetles and the smelliest animals](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/398-poo-wee-and-smells-rabbits-that-eat-their-droppings-dung-beetles-and-the-smelliest-animals/) - next →: [The big biology quiz, part 4: everything from lessons 301 to 399](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/400-the-big-biology-quiz-part-4-everything-from-lessons-301-to-399/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)