We all have heard the name at least once in our Manipal life. We have been there, done that ( gotten a bite from it of course). Its history is all over Manipal, but why exactly does this tiny but monstrous critter seem to put our lives into misery?
Of course you might ask, why i decided to sit and dedicate my (first) post to this mysterious bug, inspite of people cribbing about it since, god knows when! When a lot of people around you, are affected by something this tiny, one can’t help, but wonder. My roommate for instance, has had a terrible looking scar (which hung on for months), after one bad night with it. So, the mysteries about the Manipal bug are now going to be unveiled! (claps, please).
First of all, this neither has anyting to do with Manipal nor anything to do with a bug! This lethal insect is called “The Blister Beetle” which belongs to the paederus genus (if you din’t get the genus part, never mind, neither did I). So, tadaa..
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| The Blister Beetle Popularly Know as ‘The Manipal Bug’ |
This bug becomes active in the first two or three months of the rainfall (read all months).And contrary to perception this blister beetle does NOT bite! ( Initially, I couldn’t believe this either). The body of the beetle has a vesicant or irritant which when comes into contact witht the skin leaves behid something like a burn mark.In technical terms, a linear pattern inflammation, a burning sensation, redness and a pain similar to a patch of burnt skin are the most obvious ways of identifying blister bee lesion.
The best part, the manipal bug is attracted to light, and is most commonly found in your BED! So next time you hit the sck, roll over your bed, and nicely give the bug a body slam, be careful- you might just end up scar(r)ing yourself the next morning.
This post was originally posted as the manipal bug at thereforeiam.in
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