Re: Ladybug Bites

From: GeoffAroid at aol.com on 2002.04.30 at 18:48:52(8689) 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. +More Geoffrey Kibby London

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