Photo of Asian Beetles Embedded in a Dog’s Mouth-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
A photo shows Asian beetles embedded in a dog’s mouth and warns of the potential dangers of dogs eating Japanese beetles.
The Truth:
This warning about Japanese beetles embedded in a dog’s mouth is true.
Asian beetles (which look a lot like ladybugs) have been known to embed themselves in roof of dogs’ mouths and cause serious health problems.
The medical jargon for the Asian beetles embedded in a dog’s mouth is “acute corrosion of the oral mucosa in a dog,” according to a paper published by the National Institutes of Health. The author wrote that multi-colored Asian beetles that had been ingested by a dog became ingested in its mouth and caused chemical burns:
A six-year old mixed-breed dog presented with severe trauma to the oral mucosa suggestive of chemical burn. Sixteen Harmonia axyridis (Coccinellidae) were removed from the oral cavity, which revealed trauma consistent with chemical burn. The beetles had become embedded in mucosa covering the hard palate and required manual removal. A diagnosis of beetle induced chemical burn was warranted and consistent with the nature of the chemical constituents of H. axyridis hemolymph.
A photo that shows Asian beetles embedded in a dog’s mouth went viral on Reddit in November 2015. The warning is very real, but it’s not clear where that photo came from.