Re: Ladybug Bites

Sounds like this kind of scraping might provide enough contact with the 
allergens in the beetle's mouthparts and/or shell to cause or stimulate an 
allergy.

In a message dated 4/30/2 6:49:30 PM, GeoffAroid@aol.com writes:
<< Ladybugs (Ladybirds in Britain) are frequently the cause of supposed 
'bites' 
but in reality they are searching for moisture. Particularly in hot weather 
the beetles need to take in quite a lot of extra liquid and human skin with 
sweat droplets provides a tempting source. As Ted Held suggested in his email 
the bite is accidental caused by the scraping of the mouthparts as they 
attempt to suck up liquid. I worked for 10 years at the Natural History 
Museum as a specialist in beetles and this problem came up at regular 
intervals.

Geoffrey Kibby >>
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