Mealworm Sprayed liquid in my face . Should I be worried?

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professorjimjam

Dovii
MFK Member
May 26, 2021
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I had a bit of a strange moment today—while feeding my puffers, one of the mealworms I was handling squirted a bit of liquid from its tail, and it accidentally got on my face. I washed it off right away, but I just wanted to check in and make sure there’s nothing I should be concerned about.


Appreciate your time as always!

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Apparently the mealworm secretion is 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone and m-cresol, which are fairly strong irritants. I bet you'd feel the sting if it got in your eye, but if it's just the face it should be no issue.

Some other bugs have secretions that pack quite the punch, oil beetles and Spanish fly beetles can blister skin on contact for example.
 
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Conchonius said:
Apparently the mealworm secretion is 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone and m-cresol, which are fairly strong irritants. I bet you'd feel the sting if it got in your eye, but if it's just the face it should be no issue.

Some other bugs have secretions that pack quite the punch, oil beetles and Spanish fly beetles can blister skin on contact for example.
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Definitely sounds like something you could get high off if you tried hard enough.
 
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