Sting

“ A Fly tickling your nose drives you mad, and in place of setting the misguided insect free, you take its life. The sting of a Gnat swells and deforms your face, and spoils the image of the God that made you; while the bite of a reptile a hundred times smaller than yourself proves fatal. ”

“ He is in pain,—in positive agony,—for these venomous ants both sting and bite, and have been busy at both from the very first moment. Each moment his agony grows more intense, his sufferings more acute, for the poison is thrilling through his veins,—he turns pale,—his eyes become blood-cast,—his breast quivers with emotion and his limbs tremble beneath him ”

“ The sting, I am told, is directed at one point rather than another because that is the only vulnerable point. The insect cannot choose what wound it will inflict; it stings where it must. Its wonderful operative method is the necessary result of the victim's structure. Let us first, if we attach any importance to lucidity, come to an understanding about the word "vulnerable." Do you mean by this that the point or rather points wounded by the sting are the only points at which a lesion will suddenly cause either death or paralysis? ”

“ Every worker is armed with a formidable sting, and when provoked, makes instant and effectual use of her natural weapon. The sting, when subjected to microscopic examination, exhibits a very curious and complicated mechanism. "It is moved [6] by muscles which, though invisible to the eye, are yet strong enough to force the sting, to the depth of one twelfth of an inch, through the thick skin of a man's hand. ”

“ Grasping her prey with her legs and jaws, in another moment the wriggling body is passive in her grasp, subdued by the potent anæsthetic of her sting—a hypodermic injection which instantly produces the semblance of death in its insect victim, reducing all the vital functions to the point of dissolution, and then holds them suspended—literally prolongs life, it would sometimes seem, even beyond its normal duration—by a process which I might call ductile equation. ”

“ The last important organ of the abdomen is the sting. This small but effective weapon is situate close to the stomach, and is found in the queen and worker, but is absent in the drone. Our engraving (Plate II. Fig. 4) exhibits the sting of the worker bee with its muscles and attachments: r shows the muscles that move the sting, and q the curved base of the outer sheath by which it is enclosed. Much beautiful mechanism is observed on a microscopic examination of this weapon, so wonderfully powerful in comparison with its bulk. ”

“ Yet some people appear to think they must inevitably be stung if they meddle with bees and for their sakes it is needful to explain why it is that a sting is painful, and how the wound inflicted by the bee may be cured. ”

“ It is not the pain caused by the sting, or still more, by the resulting swelling; it is the continual annoyance, the everlastingly recurring discomfort under which one suffers. One can endure the pain of the sting without complaint even at first, still more easily when the skin has become less sensitive to the repeatedly instilled poison ”

“ By powerful muscles, attached to the upper part of the sting, the barbs are thrust out; the sheath follows them into the pierced substance, and then, by the pressure of other muscles, a drop of the poison-liquid runs down into the wound, and immediately sets up a violent pain and inflammation - 126 - of the surrounding parts. So powerful is the action of the irritant, that numerous cases are on record of death ensuing through its influence. ”

“ Poison be their drink!
Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste!
Their sweetest shade a grove of cypress trees!
Their chiefest prospect murdering basilisks!
Their softest touch as smart as lizards' sting!
Their music frightful as the serpent's hiss,
And boding screech-owls make the concert full! ”

“ If a person receives a great number of stings, a physician should be summoned at once. The victim should be undressed, put in bed, and all of the sting scraped out. All parts of the body that have received stings should be covered with cloths soaked in hot water and wrung out. These applications should be as hot as the victim can endure.
Persons who are supersensitive to bee-sting venom show the following symptoms when stung: the skin over the entire body breaks out in lumpy welts, palms of the hands and soles of the feet itch. ”

“ Other Stinging Forms—Of the five thousand, or more, species of bees, most possess a sting and poison apparatus and some of the larger forms are capable of inflicting a much more painful sting than that of the common honey-bee. In fact, some, like the bumble bees, possess the advantage that they do not lose the sting from once using it, but are capable of driving it in repeatedly. In the tropics there are found many species of stingless bees but these are noted for their united efforts to drive away intruders by biting. ”

“ Hide not thy poison with such sugar'd words;
Lay not thy hands on me; forbear, I say;
Their touch affrights me as a serpent's sting. ”

“ It delivers stabs with its sting in two distinct ways. For the purpose of defending itself from attack it elevates its abdomen into a bow, and then regains its former position by suddenly unbending it. ”

“ When he meets with a desirable victim, such as a large spider, he darts quickly forward, seizes it with his claws, which are like those of crabs, raises it above his head in order to examine it with his eyes, which are turned upwards, and gives it the death-stroke with his sting. ”

“ But we, if we have the toothache, or a pain in the foot, or if the body be anyways affected, cannot bear it. For our sentiments of pain as well as pleasure are so trifling and effeminate, we are so enervated and relaxed by luxuries, that we cannot bear the sting of a bee without crying out. ”

“ A young man who was determined to become a bee-keeper, was so susceptible to the poison that he was most seriously affected by a single sting, his body breaking out with red blotches, breathing growing difficult, and his heart action being painfully accelerated. "We finally suggested taking a live bee and pressing it on the back of his hand until it merely pierced his skin with the sting, then immediately brushing off both bee and sting. ”

“ In case a person is stung, he should step back a little for a moment, as the pungent odor of the venom is likely to anger the bees and induce further stinging. The sting should be withdrawn, and if the pain is such as to prove troublesome, apply a little ammonia. ”

“ Piercing or biting forms may inject an irritating or poisonous saliva into the wound caused by their mouth-parts.
2. Stinging forms may inject a poison, from glands at the caudal end of the abdomen, into wounds produced by a specially modified ovipositer, the sting.
3. Nettling properties may be possessed by the hairs of the insect.
4. Vescicating, or poisonous blood plasma, or body fluids are known to exist in a large number of species and may, under exceptional circumstances, affect man. ”

“ It is trial enough to sit still, for, whatever the covering of protection, fine dust penetrates to the inmost recesses to sting eyes and lips, already smarting and swollen, and fill our throats and nostrils. ”

“ I never had a red hot darning needle thrust into my flesh, but I imagine it must be very like a sting from one of these pests. The pain for the moment is intense, but happily it soon wears off, and is seldom followed by any ill effects. ”

“ This imaginary creature is said to have a sting in its tail, which, when about to make an attack, it takes in its mouth, so as to form a hoop, then it rolls along (by preference down a steep hill-side) toward the intended victim, whom it strikes in passing with its sting. I can find no foundation for belief in any such animal. ”

“ In this country we have a number of insects, the sting of which is sometimes attended with considerable pain and swelling, or even high inflammatory excitement. Of these, the most common are the bee, wasp, hornet, yellow-jacket, and humble-bee, which all secrete a subtle poison contained in a reservoir in the abdomen, from which it is projected by the barbed dart when in the act of stinging. Severe and even dangerous wounds are occasionally thus inflicted; indeed, in a few instances death has been known to follow, especially in persons of a nervous, irritable temperament. ”

“ They build, weave, hunt, stab, and paralyse their prey, in the same way as they digest their food, or secrete the poison of their sting, without the least understanding of the means or the end. They are, I am convinced, completely ignorant of their own wonderful talents. ”

“ When they have stung anything they perish, for they cannot withdraw their sting from the wound without tearing their own entrails; but they are frequently saved, if the person stung will take care to press the sting from the wound: but when its sting is lost, the bee must perish. ”

“ I have discovered a cure not found in the pharmacopœia. Press a watch-key hard on the place after removing the sting—-this prevents the poison from spreading; then apply moist snuff or tobacco, rubbing it well in, and in five minutes all pain is gone. This is a never-failing remedy. ”

“ Certain tiny animals do not leave any pain when they sting us; so subtle is their power, so deceptive for purposes of harm. The bite is disclosed by a swelling, and even in the swelling there is no visible wound. ”

“ Should the sting be inflicted near a hive it will be wise to remove oneself from the neighbourhood without loss of time, for it is a well-known fact that the scent of the sting attracts other bees and arouses their anger against the presumed enemy of their kind. ”

“ Think'st thou there are no serpents in the world
But those who slide along the grassy sod,
And sting the luckless foot that presses them?
There are who in the path of social life
Do bask their spotted skins in Fortune's sun,
And sting the soul—Ay, till its healthful frame
Is chang'd to secret, fest'ring, sore disease,
So deadly is the wound. ”

“ After the sting is removed, the utmost possible care should be taken, not to irritate the wound by the very slightest rubbing. However intense the smarting, and of course the disposition to apply friction to the wound, it should never be done, as the poison will at once be carried through the circulating system, and severe consequences may ensue. ”

“ Trucking thy surplus wares with some well-paid Reviewer.
Good bye!—but why that angry hiss? I pray,
Go vent in thy own nest, thy heighten'd spleen,
Upon thy wife and babies, that 's the way,
It breaks the dulness of too tame a scene,
But if they chance to sting, as well as thee,
Thou 'lt need the stock of venom thou hast spared from me. ”

“ Any trivial injury may induce this form of inflammation, such as a prick or the sting of an insect, which in extent, duration, and intensity will vary with the cause, nature of the poison introduced, location, and susceptibility of the sufferer. ”

“ During certain Summer months, they attack us with such fury, and so continually, that no skin is proof against their sting, and every one pays his blood as tribute. I have seen persons so swollen after being stung by them, that one would think they would lose their eyes, which can scarcely be seen; now all that is nothing, for this annoyance can be dispelled by means of smoke, which the flies cannot stand, but this remedy attracts the Savages,—if they know our dinner hour, they come purposely to get something to eat. ”

“ What, would'st thou have a serpent sting thee twice? ”

“ The structure of these stings is very simple, and can be made out with an ordinary microscope, or even a good pocket lens. Each of these stings is, in fact, a rather elaborately constructed hair, hollow throughout its length, coming to a point at the tip, and having the base swollen into a receptacle containing the poisonous juice. When any object—such, for example, as the human hand—touches a nettle, the points of the stings slightly penetrate the skin, and the hair is pressed downwards against the base, so that the poison is forced through the hole. ”

“ MOSQUITOES 'On summer nights we hear the sound of faint voices; and little things come and sting our bodies very violently. We call .them ka—in English "mosquitoes." I think the sting is useful for us, because if we begin to sleep, the ka shall come and sting us, uttering a small voice ”

“ When actually stung, the first thing to be done is to extract the weapon, which the unfortunate insect almost invariably tears out of its body, with the poison-bag and muscles, as it flies off. If left in the flesh, the muscles, by their automatic action, drive the barbs in deeper and deeper, the poison also flowing more copiously into the wound. Directly the sting is removed, avoid all rubbing of the part affected, but at once press upon the puncture a hollow key, taking care that the exact spot pierced comes in the centre of the opening of the key-tube. ”

“ Always suck bites, as of spiders, unless there are abrasions of tongue and lips. After sucking bathe freely with fresh peroxide of hydrogen, boracic acid, or sugar-of-lead water. A leaf of green plantain, well bruised, bound on a bite or sting when nothing else is at hand keeps down inflammation and mitigates pain. ”

“ If you happen to get stung by a nettle do not bathe your hand with cold water; that will only make the pain worse. While you are waiting for the pain to pass off remember that in India there are nettles whose sting causes great pain which lasts for several days. ”

“ Nettle rash or urticaria, so called from the appearance and tingling sensations resembling those caused by the sting of nettles, in some people, is very apt to follow the use of indigestible and unwholesome food. ”