Jimmy Tokioka was in his garage in Lihu’e not long ago when something landed on the back of his neck. Without looking, Tokioka smacked at the annoyance. The Kaua’i County Councilman discovered his mistake when a large boil popped up
Jimmy Tokioka was in his garage in Lihu’e not long ago when something landed on the back of his neck. Without looking, Tokioka smacked at the annoyance.
The Kaua’i County Councilman discovered his mistake when a large boil popped up like an inflamed mushroom on his neck.
Tokioka had played into the antennae of an island pest, the coconut beetle, a local cousin of the blister beetle family.
The beetle in question is a tiny, soft-shelled thing, on average about one-quarter inch long. These insects are predominantly gray or black with a little dusky red splotch on the thorax.
According to Dr. James Lockyer, of the Kaua’i Medical Clinic, slapping or crushing Kaua’i’s version of the blister beetle is the absolutely wrong thing to do.
“Brush away, don’t crush,” the doctor advised.
Lockyer, who studied entomology as an undergraduate, had his own run-in with a beetle a few weeks ago.
“It’s not a bite or a sting,” he explained.
When smashed, the blister beetle, an aptly named little quarter-inch creature, secretes a toxic chemical coursing through its little body.
“The true blister beetle doesn’t occur in Hawai’i. But this is a close relative,” Lockyer, a precisionist like most scientists, explained.
“It’s basically a chemical burn and it can be very painful. Just like a second-degree burn,” he said of the bug’s “bite.”
Tokioka said the pain in his neck is gone but he has what looks like a possible permanent scar.
What happens if you do crush a beetle on your skin instead of brushing it off?
“Keep it (the blister) intact as long as you can because the skin underneath is very susceptible to infection and the blister can get infected. If it breaks, keep it really clean and dry” Lockyer advised.
Eventually, the problem clears up and all victims don’t feel the need to see a doctor.
But there’s one situation when seeking help isn’t optional.
“If it gets in your eyes you definitely need to see somebody. It (the secretion) is a toxic chemical. Just brush it away and then rinse the affected site with cold water,” he added.
Luckily, the problem doesn’t necessarily last a lifetime.
“It’s sort of transient. They appear suddenly and they go away just as suddenly. It (the swarm) occurs in warm weather after heavy rain. They suddenly appear in swarms, often to the evening. They are drawn to the light.”
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
