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Other Irritating Arthropods (Beetles, Bugs, Centipedes, Etc.)

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Arthropod Borne Diseases

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Abstract

Environmental changes, mainly caused by increasing urbanization, generate enabling conditions, sometimes not desirable, which favor the proximity between the humans and the population of other animals, including arthropods. Many of these species produce irritant substances responsible for causing important clinical manifestations in their victims. Those manifestations can range from discomfort and pain caused by contact with the toxin to various cutaneous symptoms, including blistering, contact dermatitis and allergic reaction, among others. In many instances, death occurs. Arthropods annoying of public health importance, such as species of insects (class Insecta), centipedes (class Chilopoda) and millipedes (class Diplopoda), which have not been previously discussed, are dealt here. Among the insects, species of the orders Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), Lepidoptera (moths) and Hemiptera (bugs haematophagous and non-haematophagous) are detailed. This section aims to provide basic allowances for the identification of these species and emphasises clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment and prophylactic measures of diseases caused by them.

As referred in the introduction, spiders and scorpions are not included in the book, due to the availability of recent good reviews on problems caused by these arthropods (CBM).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Chapter 3 cites the utilization of toxins from Chrysomelidae beetles on arrows by San bushmen, that can kill antelopes and giraffe (CBM).

  2. 2.

    Cantarella, produced from cantharidin (or arsenic), was allegedly utilised by the Borgia family to kill their enemies (CBM).

  3. 3.

    Even president F. D. Roosevelt and other participants of Yalta conference, in February 1945, were disturbed by bedbugs (CBM).

  4. 4.

    For further details on reactions to the bites of bloodsucking insects, see Chap. 36 (CBM).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Leonardo Vincensi for the drawings of the Chilopoda and Diplopoda. We are also grateful to Grzegorz Kania, Department of Biology and Parasitology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland, for sending us their scientific articles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Center of Biological Sciences and Health, State University of Paraiba, 58429-500, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil

    Carla de Lima Bicho

  2. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Farroupilha, Panambi Campus, 98280-000, Panambi, RS, Brazil

    Gerson Azulim Müller

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  1. Carla de Lima Bicho
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Correspondence to Carla de Lima Bicho .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Carlos Brisola Marcondes

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de Lima Bicho, C., Müller, G.A. (2017). Other Irritating Arthropods (Beetles, Bugs, Centipedes, Etc.). In: Marcondes, C. (eds) Arthropod Borne Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_35

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13883-1

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