Don't Mess with that Bug man!

Greetings from the land where cows roam freely! Today, my studying hormones are not working quite well, so I resolve to blog instead. Around Manipal, there are many creepy crawlies. They range from as small as the size of a sand praticle to as big as a fist. Yup, we found one giant grasshopper at our faculty's notice board before. Anyway, my main focus for this post is a bug called Blister Beetle, or also known as Manipal Bug. Yes, it's name after the town because for years people of this town had never been able to catch the real culprit. It was considered a mysterious bug until Kasturba Medical College did a research on it.

How did I came about knowing this bug? Thanks to my friend Xin Yi, I came to know about the existance of it. Well, it doesn't really look like a bettle to me, somewhat more like an ant. I personally haven't come across it before, but I have seen it's effect on Xin Yi. The beetle doesn't bite but instead secrete a type of irritating chemical called vesicant over it's body. Any skin contact with it will leave linear burning marks. Victims often find this after waking up in the morning. Patient will suffer from swelling and burning sensation; sometimes leading to puss formation.

Like many other bugs, it's attrached to light. It also likes to linger around bed. I can pretty say that, sleeping with the lights on is not a very good idea in Manipal as you will have a higher tendency to come in contact or even crush the bug while sleeping. Besides that, its not a good idea to have plants around your room as they thrive on vegetation. Room facing the forest has a higher chance of inviting the bug in. It is also said to be most active during the rainy season. (May, June, July)

Precautionary steps can be taken to avoid contact with it. This includes covering windows with nets, spraying insect repellant and sleeping with the light offs.

Scary? Well, I just thought of sharing this to the world. :) We won't let this Manipal bug spoil all the fun in Manipal.

Reference from : http://themanipaljournal.com/index.php?news=237