Pteropterus, don't fight! Everyone is afraid that it turns out to be a beneficial insect, and Hu Fangshuo, a junior, is fair with his research.

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There was a sense of itching on your hands, and you subconsciously slapped your arm and thought you had killed a mosquito. It wasn't long before you began to feel that your arms were burning, red and swollen, and that you were killing not mosquitoes, but terrible cryptopterous insects.

However, you misunderstand the Staphylinus. It not only does not attack humans, it is even a beneficial insect. Hu Fangshuo, a junior in the Department of Entomology at Chung Hsing University, may be called an expert on Staphylinus in Taiwan. He began to study Staphylinus in high school and has published seven papers related to Staphylinus. "Coleoptera is so cool," he said. Staphylinus has suffered a lot of misunderstandings, and Hu Fangshuo wants to give it justice with research.

Don't slapp and kill Staphylinus by mistake before you see it carefully. Rinse with clean water.

In biological classification, Staphylinus belongs to Arthropoda, Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, which has the largest number of species in the world. 67,000 species have been found, and it is speculated that there are still many species in the tropics that have not been discovered. Because of its high diversity, it can be found in almost all environments.

Common Staphylinus in Taiwan (courtesy of Hu Fangshuo)

In the case of Staphylinus in Taiwan, the moist land, park meadows, paddy fields, and streams are all the places where they hide. If the doors and windows of the home are not kept closed, some species will also appear in the indoor space because of phototaxis.

However, of the more than 1200 common species of Staphylinus in Taiwan, only about 20 are really harmful to humans, and most of the people in Taiwan suffer from Staphylinus. Staphylinus does not bite humans, but its body fluids contain weakly alkaline Staphylinus. After we beat Staphylinus, its body fluid stays on the skin and soon blisters, redness, swelling, and burning. The wound slowly dries up and forms a scab. it will take about ten days to heal, and it is easy to leave scars.

Such abominable bugs should be wiped out! If you feel the same way, listen to Hu Fangshuo. "Staphylinus not only does not take the initiative to attack humans, it is even the natural enemy of many pests." Crop pests such as brown planthopper, leaf mite and thrips are all preyed on by Staphylinus, that is to say, they are good helpers for farmers.

Hu Fangshuo stresses that the red-breasted Staphylinus is characterized by the black-and-red color of the body's head, chest, and abdomen, but its body length is about one centimeter long, which is a little bigger than a mosquito, so it is extremely easy to "snap" when it itches. Therefore, in order to protect your own safety, "you'd better take a look at it before you do it. If it's not a mosquito, just blow it away." He also pointed out that if you do kill Staphylinus by mistake, rinse with plenty of water as soon as possible, and if the skin condition is too serious, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.