#BEE VENOM SKIN#

This loss of signal results in just a few angry bees rather than a swarm of stingers ready to defend the colony.īee stings are one of the hazards of the beekeeping trade. Fortunately, smoke tends to mask the smell of this pheromone. That’s why there’s a banana smell when bees sting another animal. IAA has a very familiar smell, because it has the exact same chemical composition as banana oil. Bees begin to produce this IAA (also known as isoamyl acetate), at about day 15. Of these, isopentyl acetate is the key compound. The alarm pheromones of honey bees contain about 20 compounds. That’s why it’s a good idea to apply two or three puffs of smoke to the sting site after removing the sting to mask the tell tale alarm odor. It signals the defenders (aka stingers) to seek and sting threats. When worker bees detect this alarm pheromone blend, they fly faster and buzz more. Located near the sting shaft of the worker bee, this gland is responsible for most of the bee’s alarm pheromones. When a bee stings, an alarm pheromone is released by its Koschevnikov gland. That’s why getting the sting out quickly after a sting is important. Amazingly, even when the sting is no longer a part of the bee, it can keep pumping venom into a victim. The venom sac and sting of the bee are torn from the abdomen and left behind. Honey bees won’t sting unless they sense a threat, because they can’t withdraw their stings. When a bee stings, venom is released into a space on the sting between the barbs and the stylet. Attached to the sting is the bee’s venom sac, containing the bee’s chemical cocktail of mellitin, histamine and other proteins. The bee doesn’t need much force to embed the sting into its victim the barbs are positioned on the sting in a way that helps pull it further into the wound. The structure of this modified ovipositor allows the sting to act like a self-guided missile. Only female insects can sting, and scientists believe this is because the sting evolved from the insect’s egg-laying organ-the ovipositor. Bees also have an excellent dispersal mechanism – their stings. It’s not just the chemicals in a bee’s venom that make it such an effective defensive weapon. Hyaluronidase (2% of venom,) helps the reaction to spread to surrounding tissue by breaking down one of the components of cell tissue. Apamin, which makes up 3% of venom, destroys nerve tissue. Some ingredients help to strengthen the toxicity of the venom.

Not all the proteins in bee venom cause pain. Histamine also contributes to some of the pain of the sting. This is why bee stings cause itchy red spots. Histamine causes your tiny capillaries to leak fluid. This ingredient, which makes up 12% of venom, causes pain and inflammation.īut wait – the pain from that one sting isn’t quite over yet. Phospholipase A 2 is another protein that works with melittin to destroy cell membranes at the sting site. And, unfortunately, melittin isn’t the only ingredient in bee venom that causes pain. This blood vessel expansion is why some people have a dangerous drop in blood pressure after bee stings. Melittin causes red blood cells at the sting site to burst and the blood vessels to expand. It’s by far the most abundant ingredient in bee venom – 50% of venom’s dry weight comes from melittin. The allergen in bee venom that causes the main “ouch” is melittin.

#BEE VENOM SKIN#

(That’s because the venom is injected into skin and not onto skin.) Most scientists doubt the effectiveness of such topical treatments. Because of this acidity, some home remedies advise using a baking soda paste on stings to neutralize the stings. Painful to think about, huh? Unlike alarm pheromones, bee venom is odorless with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 which can make it slightly acidic. Unfortunately, that’s why the venom works so well on humans – we have lots of nice moist tissue. Because of this water solubility, bees sting in moist tissue in order for the venom to disperse effectively.

Bees are remarkable, so it’s little wonder that their venom is proving to be an amazingly complex and useful substance.īee venom is mostly water-88% to be exact. It’s these chemical weapons in the bee’s arsenal that have scientists fascinated. So if a worker bee senses a threat, it will sting and then use alarm pheromones to call in the cavalry. But, they are, in the end, social insects and protecting the hive is Job 1. We’re basically a nuisance to them, so stinging is really a last resort for a bee. They really aren’t itching for a fight, and are quite content to ignore humans. It’s the price we pay for those beautiful jars of honey. Even the most experience beekeepers catch a sting occasionally.

Bee venom