Skirt and blouse is the name many people here call rove beetles. The name skirt and blouse is good because it’s their females that cause problems.
They are really inoffensive if they can be left alone. The problem comes when we try to kill or pursue them by rubbing on them against the body. In their own defence, they’ll quickly release their body fluid which contains a chemical known as PEDERIN.
This pederin is the main problem. It is way more potent than a cobra’s venom. You won’t know immediately until after 24hrs to 48hrs. When it comes up however, you will definitely notice it. Reddish swelling that burns on skin as shown in the images below are the easiest symptoms. If would look like hot water was poured on the person. If you rub the affected part if the body with other parts, if may also spread. The symptom persists for a week or more.
To avoid the spreading of symptoms, wash the affected area with clean, fresh water and soap and in case of eyes rinse them with fresh water. There are antibiotics and pharmaceutical creams (topical steroids) that you can get to help with alleviate the symptoms.
Female rove beetles are the only ones that can manufacture pederin. Males can only store little that they got from their mother when she laid the eggs.
Advantages of Rove Beetles
Skirt and blouse are actually good insects if we remove the harmful parts of pederin. They eat pests that destroy crops. For example, in that last image, they’re eating a housefly maggot. Also, because of pederin’s ability to inhibit protein and DNA synthesis, it is being researched as an anticancer drug. In fact, one derivative of pederin, psymberin, has been found to be highly selective in targeting solid tumor cells.
Aronjile
