CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Can killer bees really kill people? What should you do if you get stung?

Recently, a killer bee appeared in the national drama "Legend of Miyue". Gongzi Dang (actually he deserved it) and Kui Gu both suffered from it. However, there are a large number of poisonous insects in the world, and there are more than 700 poisonous species in the order Hymenoptera. What kind of poisonous insect is the killer bee? Are there killer bees in reality? Let's study it below.

1. What kind of bee is a killer bee?

Killer bees usually refer to two types of bees. One is the offspring of the hybrid of the European honey bee subspecies African honey bee and the American wild bee, and the other is the wasp. The killer bees in "Legend of Miyue" should refer to wasps.

Wasps, also known as hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets, belong to the order Hymenoptera, suborder Slender-waisted, and include three families, Vespidae, Poliidae, and Pseudomonas. There are more than 6,000 known species of wasps in the world. Among them, Pseudomonas is a parasitic wasp without a hive, so it is definitely not the killer bee in "Legend of Miyue".

Wasps are very large, several times larger than bees, and have bright colors, usually yellow or red, with some black or brown spots and patterns. Unlike bees, they do not have hair on their bodies, but some have bristles on their chests and abdomens. The biggest difference between wasps and bees is that they will not die even if stung by a wasp sting.

Every autumn, drones and virgin queens leave the nest to have sex. The queen crawls on the ground with her tail up, while drones roam from hive to hive in search of wives. Wasps are promiscuous, and both male and female wasps can mate with many partners. The queens then store their semen in the spermatophore for a lifetime. After that, the drones have completed their mission and die. Die.

Wasps need to build nests, which are called hornet nests. In the spring of the following year, the queen bee begins to build her own nest with great difficulty. The queen bee first builds a nest handle, and then builds a three-room nest in a triangular shape. She can rest until her first batch of daughters are born. The young mother bees are responsible for the safer work in the nest, and when they are old enough, they can go out to hunt and fight.

Wasps are the same as honey bees, with male wasps being half sons (haploid) and female wasps being the whole daughter (diploid). The difference between worker bees and queen bees is what they eat.

Wasps are carnivorous insects. Unlike bees, which are vegetarians, wasps eat meat. When hunting, they will first catch the prey with their feet. If they can't catch it, they will give the prey an injection to anesthetize it, and then chew the prey into meat balls in small bites before taking it home. But sometimes wasps will try something new and eat some vegetarian food. They especially like sweet substances. Alcohol generally means fruit fermentation, and fragrance means nectar. So it's not surprising that Gongzi Dang and Gongzi Ji were attacked. They just wanted to find something to eat. (Wasp aggrieved face)

The larvae of wasps have some very special phenomena. They do not defecate through their anus, but instead open a hole in their body and hang a bag on it. They defecate in this bag. They are born with anal fistula.

When the larvae eat the meat balls brought back by the worker bees, they also secrete a white liquid for the worker bees to eat. It is a mutual benefit.

1. What the hell is wasp venom?

Wasps generally don't bother humans, and they don't sting humans unless they are disturbed, especially by chemicals. The smell of alcohol that Prince Dang exudes after drinking in "The Legend of Miyue" is a chemical. So are the perfumed clothes on Prince Ji.

Animal toxins are chemical weapons that animals gradually evolved in the fierce competition for survival in nature, used for self-defense and predation. The venom composition, detoxification method, and function of each poisonous insect vary depending on the environment and food.

Wasps also have venom glands, which secrete venom into venom sacs. When used, it is excreted from the stinger. Wasps that are not out in the field do not have much venom in their bodies. Wasp venom is light yellow, feces yellow, volatile, bitter (I don't know who tasted it), sticky, and has an acidic pH. It is inactivated by heating to 100 degrees for 30 minutes. It is soluble in water, oil, and acid.

The chemical composition of bee venom is extremely complex, and it contains a variety of active substances. Simply put, there are biogenic amines, peptides, enzymes, amino acids, adrenaline, etc.

Biogenic amines mainly include histamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, etc. Their function is to cause pain. And there are especially many biogenic amines in wasp venom, so it is not surprising that it is particularly painful.

Peptides include neuropeptides, dopamine, adrenaline, norepinephrine, wasp kinin, etc. They can change blood pressure, contract smooth muscles, increase vascular permeability, and produce pain. Trypsin can decompose kinin. In addition, there are hemolytic peptides, neurotoxic bee venom peptides, and mast cell degranulation peptides that induce mast cells to produce histamine.

Enzymes include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A, phospholipase B, protease, etc. Enzymes, as macromolecules, are the main substances that cause allergies. The main function of hyaluronidase is to catalyze the hydrolysis of substances such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate, opening channels for the penetration and diffusion of other substances in bee venom. The function of phospholipase is to catalyze the hydrolysis of glycerophospholipids, causing cell membrane rupture and hemolysis.

The main purpose of wasps' venom is to paralyze their prey. Ancient people found that wasps often brought various insects home, and soon little wasps flew out of them. Ancient people thought, oh, it turns out that you wasps are all male and can't have children, so you have to raise other people's children. "The Book of Songs, Xiaoya, Xiaoyuan" says, "The moth has a son, and the wasp carries it." So the ancients called the adopted son the moth's son. But in fact, it is not like this. Wasps just capture and paralyze the prey, lay eggs in the prey's body, and use the prey as food for their larvae.

The wasp can inject venom into the abdomen of the beetle's first pair of legs just right, causing paralysis of the beetle's motor nervous system, and even paralysis for a month without killing it.

3. What will happen if you are poisoned by a hornet?

The stung area will become red, swollen, hot, painful like a needle, dizzy, headache, stomachache, vomiting, diarrhea, and high blood pressure. Some people may still have poisonous needles. After being stung, some people may have difficulty breathing, swallowing, and irritability (no wonder it hurts so much). If the whole body is stung, the whole body will be painful and numb, and the kidney function will be damaged and proteinuria will appear. If it is more serious, the face will be pale, the limbs will be cold, and there will be symptoms of shock.

The story in The Legend of Miyue about poison gas attacking the heart is true, because many substances in bee venom are cardiotoxic and can cause myocarditis, hepatitis, etc.

Wasp attacks mainly occur from July to November, when the number of wasps in the hive is the highest. Boys are particularly vulnerable, because you are so active. Try not to touch the grass, walk on the main road, and lie down and cover your body with clothes if you encounter a swarm of wasps, because wasps are only interested in white and moving objects. Anyway, just don't do stupid things.

4. How to detoxify hornet venom?

First, remove the poisonous needle (it hurts, bear with it). Apply vinegar or 3% boric acid to the wound. If you use herbal medicine, you can mash ginger, garlic, purslane, and dandelion and apply it to the wound. You can also rub the swollen area with Artemisia annua and mint leaves.

Seven-leafed aconite is effective because it can reduce swelling and relieve pain, but it is not enough to be called a miracle drug. Ji Desheng snake medicine tablets are effective for wasp stings, which contain seven-leafed aconite. Qingkailing and Shengmai injections can also be injected to reduce inflammation.

To treat allergies, chlorpheniramine should be taken orally. Adrenaline should be injected intramuscularly and a large amount of vitamin C plus glucose solution should be dripped intravenously. If there is difficulty breathing and swallowing, adrenal glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone should be added. If necessary, tracheotomy is required. The treatment methods of each hospital and each doctor are different. The above are just examples.

5. Is wasp venom good for humans?

Of course there are benefits. Like bee venom, hornet venom has many benefits to the human body.

For example, it can fight rheumatism: the peptides in bee venom can fight inflammation, inhibit immune function and capillary permeability, and stimulate adrenal cortex function. Germany produces wasp venom ointment to treat rheumatism.

For example, anti-tumor: wasp venom can inhibit cell replication, treat tumors, and has a strong killing effect on tumor cells.

For example, to treat allergic diseases such as asthma, Bayer Australia has produced hornet venom injections to treat allergies.

It can also fight HIV. Bee venom can improve T lymphocyte function, inhibit viral replication, and inhibit HIV gene expression, thereby weakening its infectivity.

In addition to the above, it can also be anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-radiation, and protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular vessels. In short, it has many benefits. But don't just sting a wasp for no reason and talk about the benefits without considering the dosage. You are still being a hooligan!