The Bed Bugs Will Bite!
If children are naughty, their parents or guardians tell them that they will be swarmed in their sleep by hundreds of jet black beetles that will eat them from the toes up! The children are often light-heartedly told this tale, only half believing it, though there are apocryphal reports of the sick or dying being damaged by bites from scarabs upon their wounds or exposed limbs.
Summary
It is known that beetles are found in crypts and graves and that they dispose of the flesh of dead animals and people. To children, this process can seem a little scary and even to many older children, it is seen as a necessary process, albeit rather ugly in its details.
And when small children misbehave as they often do, they will be threatened with being eaten alive by the insects that eat the dead.
Since most races believe that life is sacred, the scarabs are not killed or squashed. Often, the beetles are swept out of the house with palm leaves or brooms.
Historical Basis
In the past times, when the people were less savvy regarding life in the desert, most would sleep on mats upon the ground. Should anyone fall sick, or be seriously weakened and immobile, that the scarab beetles would be drawn by the smell of looming death and rotten flesh and would feast upon the still-living victim.
Spread
The story is told commonly among tribal and nomadic people and those who live in the west almost believe the tale to be true. In Hajdib, inhabitants tend to be more enlightened and their children are admonished in more subtle ways.
In Literature
Children who are asked about this when they are small truly believe that they will be attacked by beetles. They draw pictures of it and tell each other stories but there is very little serious literature on the subject.
In Art
Children will sometimes draw pictures of the beetles. Their imaginations are allowed to work alone on the story of how the beetles will eat them!
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