Inaturalist says it's a thrip, but my photo isn't very clear and inaturalist tries its hardest, but it can't positively identify everything, and I want to make sure it's not a flea or something else. I do know that thrips feed on the moisture of plants, and that if it is a thrip it likely mistook my bright yellow pants for a flower.
I have bites all over my legs, but mostly the left. Some bites on my midsection but surprisingly few. No bites on my arms. The bites on my legs are mostly clustered together. Anyway, when I pulled it off of my leg, it jumped out of my hand. I came back after showering to find it on the inside of my pants. At the cuffs?/bottom part of the legs of my pants, there were a lot of brown and red smears, and there weren't any bites on that part of my legs. I know that's indicative of bed bugs, so I'm worrying about that too. I need to check my mattress.
I'd argue this is still probably pretty funny.
The location is southern US. The bug is long and small. The light glints off of it. It would have been on me since this morning; I slept from probably 8 AM to 7 PM.
Mom gardens in the yard, though I haven't recently been out there. We also have a dog recovering from surgery, who went through some complications which caused her to bleed and get pus on the floor, which has only been spot cleaned, not bleached yet. She was given preventative flea meds like a month ago. I also cleaned my old beanie babies a few days ago, and while I was doing that a jumping bug landed on me, but it might have been coincidence, because I have been seeing jumping bugs on it long before that. They're dark, long, and the light glints off of them. Which means they're probably fleas, but I don't get a good look at them, so I don't know. Could still be thrips.
Thank you, in advance.
Edit: The size is tiny. Smaller than a fingernail, but big enough to see. Mom works at an animal hospital; she said she could have definitely brought a flea home. I think it probably is fleas, but I'm still not sure. I'm used to them being smaller than this and thin. The ones I've seen are tiny and round and black
More bugs! On scenic my pants.
