What does a rove beetle look like, what medicine should be used after being bitten, and where are they most common?

When the weather gets hot, rove beetles become active too! Recently, reports of rove beetle attacks have surfaced online again. It is said that a girl crushed a rove beetle to death in her sleep and nearly ended up disfigured. How terrifying. Rove beetles do not sting or bite people, but the body fluid they secrete is a toxin with corrosive properties. If it comes into contact with the skin, symptoms such as pain, itching and swelling may appear. So what does a rove beetle look like? What medicine should be used after being bitten? Where are they most common?

What does a rove beetle look like?

Rove beetles are a type of beneficial insect and can prey on many agricultural pests. A small number of rove beetle species are poisonous rove beetles, and contact with the human body can cause dermatitis. Rove beetles are also known as “green-waisted insects” and “shadow insects.” They have a slender body and look very much like large ants. The entire body is made up of alternating black and yellow colors, with a black head and an orange-red or orange-yellow pronotum and base of the abdomen; they have two pairs of wings, the front wings are very short and hard, while the hind wings are long and large, unfolding in flight and folding beneath the front wings at rest, with the abdomen completely exposed, so at first glance they appear wingless, hence the name “rove beetle.” Apart from the black tip of the abdomen, the abdomen is entirely yellow, and the tail has two tail spines.

How do rove beetles harm people?

Poisonous rove beetles pose a threat to humans because their bodies contain venom, but they are not fatal. The pH value of this venom is equivalent to concentrated sulfuric acid. After it crawls over the skin, the body does not itch but there is a burning pain, followed by erythema, like a red stripe as if whipped, which generally heals on its own. If the insect is crushed to death, more of its fluid gets onto the skin, and blisters appear, as if scalded by hot water. The affected area forms red streaks and looks like a burn. In severe cases, the wound has blisters, and a few have pustules. Most patients are more severely affected on the neck and arms. The online claim that “if this insect is on your body, just gently blow it away with your mouth, and absolutely do not swat it with your hand!” is correct.

Dermatitis after rove beetle bite

Where are poisonous rove beetles most common?

Adult poisonous rove beetles prefer to breed in moist, grassy places. Such as freshwater lakesides, swamps, ditches, ponds, river floodplains, weed thickets, and fields of crops such as rice, wheat, rapeseed, radish, tobacco and cotton, and they have obvious phototaxis (especially to fluorescent light) and a tendency to move upward. They generally attack people more easily in dry, high-temperature seasons.

According to dermatologists, continuous rain in the early period makes it hard for rove beetles to move about, but after the rain they come out in large numbers to forage, and together with the humid, muggy climate, this is exactly suitable for their survival.

What should be done when encountering a rove beetle?

Rove beetles are mostly active at night and hide by day, and like to fly around fluorescent lamps. Residents should pay attention to cleaning indoor and outdoor sanitation to prevent mosquitoes and insects from breeding.

At the same time, close the window screens and turn off the lights when sleeping at night, and check the bed for rove beetles before going to sleep. Try to take various mosquito-repellent measures, such as using a mosquito killer or applying floral water. If a rove beetle lands on the skin, blow it away with your mouth, then wash the area with clean water.

When a rove beetle crawls on the skin, it may secrete body fluid and cause skin problems. Residents should pay attention to keeping clean, and it generally heals on its own; if a rove beetle is accidentally swatted or crushed to death, wash it off with soapy water as soon as possible, or apply moist burn ointment; if the erythema blisters severely or covers a large area, seek medical attention promptly.

In addition, dragging after swatting the insect body often forms streak-shaped erythema. Its venom can also spread through the fingers, contaminating whatever they touch. Therefore, do not blindly swat or crush them. If you do swat one, wash your hands promptly to avoid carrying the venom to other areas of skin.

What is the natural enemy and nemesis of the rove beetle?

As far as the editor knows, rove beetles have no specific natural enemy or nemesis in nature, but they are very afraid of essential balm, and die immediately upon contact with it; even diluted essential balm will kill them within one or two minutes.

Residents whose homes are relatively damp can place some acorus and mugwort leaves at home, set out one or two pots of blooming night-blooming jasmine, mint, etc., or place several opened boxes of cooling oil or essential balm. Poisonous insects will avoid them because they cannot stand their smell.

The upcoming Dragon Boat Festival is also a major festival for the whole population to prevent epidemics and diseases, avoid plague and drive out toxins, and pray for health and longevity. Because at this time the weather grows hotter day by day and mosquitoes and flies breed, there is a tradition of hanging acorus and mugwort leaves around the Dragon Boat Festival, and modern evidence confirms that it does have insect-repellent effects.