by Gary Charles Berliner

Created on: March 04, 2009   Last Updated: April 03, 2009

With the approach of warmer weather patients presenting to Hospital Emergency Rooms with insect stings increases dramatically. The 6 major stinging insects in the US are Fire ants, Bumble Bees, Honey Bees (including "Africanized" strains), Yellow Jackets, Hornets, and Wasps. The latter 5 are all classified as Bees, belonging to the order Hymenoptera. Bumble Bees and Honey Bees are in the family Apidae, while Yellow Jackets, Hornets, and Wasps are in the family Vespidae.

Wasps fall into three broad varieties; colonial nest builders, individual mud daubers, and solitary ground dwellers. In contrast to Hornets and Honey Bees whose colonies may number upwards of 50,000 insects, Wasp colonies number relatively few individuals, often no more than 10 adults, but may in the case of long established nests number into the thousands. These Wasp Nest builders form discreet open hive colonies usually located under housing eaves, but may be found attached under benches, overturned outdoor furniture, unused grills, or any above ground site that is dry, and relatively protected from rain, or molestation by animals. Ground dwelling wasps and mud dauber wasps are by contrast solitary, living in burrows or mud "pipes" housing the egg laying parent and her 5 to 25 offspring. AS members of the order Hymenoptera Wasps have envenomed stingers that may cause a variety of responses from small or large localized reactions, to anaphylaxis, serum sickness or venom intoxication. The later three may lead to hypotension, systemic organ failure, collapse, and death. Twice as many people die from Hymenoptera stings than die from snake bites in this country, about 40 annually.

Most stinging incidents are chance encounters with solitary foraging bees who become trapped or entangled in their contact with a person. While even a single sting for the first time may result in life threatening anaphylaxis, the actual incidence is less than 3 in one thousand. However, in those incidents where people are injured, they most often involve encounters with colonial or social Bee's & Wasp's Nests and may result in multiple stings with massive envenomation. While Yellow Jackets are the most aggressive, and the scourge of sugar laden field picnics, they tend to be fringe field and forest burrowers, thus come into contact only with people who noisily intrude into their territory. Similarly, Hornets and wild Honey Bee nests are usually located away from human habitations. It is Wasp colonies however, who by

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>