Details about the wasp sting and its application

Bees after a bite always leave their sting in the body of the victim, and therefore no one doubts its presence in these insects. But what about wasps? How do they bite, or do they sting? Where is the wasp sting located?

Wasp sting: is it there?

In fact, the question of whether a wasp has a sting is not so out of place as it might seem at first glance. The thing is that females have it exclusively, males have a slightly different body structure and they have no sting. And since most individuals among female wasps are females, we can say that all those wasps that are found in the country, in city parks, and even on your balconies, have a sting.
Does a wasp sting or bite? Nature has decreed that, in view of the presence of the sting, it is the females who act as defenders of the nest and obtain food with its help. However, there are situations when they use another organ, their powerful jaws, to kill the enemy. In such cases, it can be said that the wasp is biting. Moreover, the strength of the jaws is so high that with their help a wasp can even bite through the chitinous covers of some insects. Why it happens? It is believed that wasps simply save "poison" and, seeing that they are able to cope with the enemy without him, only use their jaws.

On a note! Having reached a certain age, many wasps use the sting only to get enough food that is needed to feed the larvae!

The wasp sting is located where the ovipositor is located - in the back of the abdomen. In the process of evolution, it has somewhat altered, hardened and connected with the gland, which is responsible for the production of a toxic secret. Thus, it becomes clear why this organ is absent in males - it cannot because of the anatomical features of the body structure. In addition, males are much smaller than females, and they appear only in certain periods - approximately in August-September, and at the same time their life expectancy is extremely short - only two or three weeks.

What does a wasp sting look like?

The sting is long, strong enough and pointed at the end. Inside it there is a cavity, which is a kind of duct through which the poison produced by the gland located in close proximity to the sting moves. In a calm state, this piercing organ is located inside the abdomen, but as soon as it becomes necessary, the wasp sharply contracts the muscles located in this area, and the sting immediately leaves its body.

A detailed examination of the wasp sting is possible only with its multiple increase, for example, using a microscope. And if armed with this device, then you can see that this organ is translucent and has smooth walls.

On a note! Although under normal viewing, without a microscope, the sting seems dark brown!

If we talk about the constructive structure, then the wasp sting is a pair of peculiar stilettos pushed from the abdomen by formations called sleds.In a calm state, these slides are covered with plates, but when the wasp needs to use the sting, they move apart, releasing the slide, and sharp stilettos already move on them.

Between the sled and the stylet there is a thin channel through which toxic substance enters from the special gland. But poison enters the enemy’s body only if the wasp has time and manages to pierce his body with stylets deep enough.

It is interesting! Riders, who are the closest relatives of the wasps, also have a long retractable ovipositor with a pointed end. But only these insects use it for the purpose of parasitization - with its help riders pierce the skin of the victim and make masonry in the tissues. Although in danger, riders can sting, and such a bite for a person will be quite noticeable and painful!

The difference between a wasp sting and a bee sting

In a wasp, the sting consists of smooth stilettos, and in a bee, on the contrary, the sting is in sharp notches, because of which it cannot independently extract it from soft skin integuments. Thus, after a bee sting, the sting always remains in the tissues, along with a small fragment of its body. However, even after the bee has flown away, the poison continues to enter the victim’s body. How? The detached part of the abdomen always contains muscles, which often contract and provoke further flow of poison from the sting into the wound.

On a note! It is for this reason that it is necessary to remove a bee sting from the skin immediately after a bite!

As a result of a bite, not only the victim suffers, but the bee herself, as she leaves with a sting part of the abdomen along with internal organs. As a result, the insect dies. And since we are talking about bee stings, then it will be useful to consider how to properly remove their sting from the skin.
The sequence of actions will be as follows:

• Carefully remove the sting with tweezers, if you are a woman, you can use your nails. It is necessary to try to complete this procedure within the first 20 seconds, since the longer the sting remains in the tissues, the greater the portion of the poison received, and therefore delay can lead to very negative consequences, up to a severe allergic reaction.
• After the sting was removed, immediately wash the bite with soap. This will help reduce the risk of infection.
• Next, we apply ice to the affected area, which will stop the growth of the tumor and reduce pain.
• And the last thing to do is treat the bite site with an antihistamine ointment.

If, after all the procedures performed, the tumor continues to grow, the affected area is very painful and red, or you feel a lack of oxygen and other breathing problems, then in such cases you should immediately seek medical help.

Wasp stings: how does this happen?

How a wasp bites in terms of body structure was described in the previous section. However, it is worth noting the fact that, despite the presence of quite sharp stilettos, not every victim will be an insect, as they say, in the teeth. In order for the sting to succeed, the opponent's integument must be softer than the sting itself, which is why wasps very rarely attack beetles, since their body is protected by coarse elytra. Spiders are another matter, and even with the most poisonous and dangerous wasps they manage quite simply.

As for whether the wasp leaves a sting when bitten, the answer will be negative, since its stilettos are absolutely smooth, and therefore the insect can freely get them out of the victim’s body. Moreover, sometimes this insect can inflict not one, but several bites in a row and remain completely unscathed.

On a note! Depending on the situation, the wasp can make 1 to 5 injections with its sting and then save it!

Having stung only once, the wasp injects about 0.4 mg of toxic secretion into the body of the victim. It is easy to calculate what the portion will be at 2, 3, 4, and 5 injections.And the last figure will be quite large and dangerous, especially for people with allergies to insect bites, in particular, wasp bites.

But despite the fact that the wasp has only one sting, even if it loses it, it will still remain alive. The loss of this organ is not fatal, and it is almost impossible to lose it under normal conditions, as its smooth walls prevent it. Thus, it turns out that situations where it is necessary to remove a wasp sting from a bitten place are practically eliminated. And all cases when the sting remains in the wound, apply only to bees. Accordingly, here we can conclude: if there wasn’t the gun itself in the stung area, then the wasp applied the bite, but if the sting remained, it was a bee. On this basis, you can always judge exactly who bit you.

A few words about the relatives of the wasps and their sting

All types of wasps have a sting, and in each case it is a formidable weapon. Only the concentration of the poison will be different, and, consequently, the strength of its effect on the bitten body. By the way, for the same reason, pain will also be different.

• Almost the most painful bite is known for traveling bees - pompilides. Among insects in this regard, only South American bullet ants are ahead of them. Such wasps live in the earth. They dig their holes and make masonry directly on paralyzed sting spiders, which subsequently become food for hatched larvae. By the way, about 200 species of road wasps are also found on the territory of our country. And this fact nevertheless cannot but alarm.
• The largest wasp is a hornet and its bite is also quite painful. It is believed that a portion of the poison injected with a single sting injection can cause serious health problems in humans and even lead to death. The largest number of hornets is recorded in Japan and, according to statistics, deaths from hornets in this country are not uncommon. These insects are also found in Europe, although not as aggressive as Asian ones.
• And, for example, the chines, although they are the largest hymenopteran insects, they sting not very painfully. At the same time, the toxicity of their poison is also low - the worst that can provoke their bite is numbness of the affected area. And this happens because of the insignificant concentration of toxic secretion, which makes the bites of these wasps relatively safe for human health.
• Philanthropists, or wasp hunters, or bee wolves, are not at all capable of biting through the skin in the palm of a person. The main damage they cause to beekeeping farms and sometimes sting even beekeepers. But their bites are almost painless, and therefore people are not afraid to catch them simply with their bare hands.

Speaking about the aggressiveness of wasps, it is worth noting that they never attack a person just like that. They attack people solely in order to protect themselves or their nest. And even in such situations, they act sequentially, so to speak, trying to avoid conflict: first, the disturbed insects try to leave the danger zone and only when they are in a critical situation, they begin to inflict poisonous injections with their sting. But if a person is too close to the nest, then wasps can attack immediately. Therefore, if, being in the country or just resting in nature, you notice a hornet's nest nearby, try not to make sudden movements and as carefully as possible leave this place, moving away from it. If the insect sits on the body, then in no case do not slap it with your palm, just brush it off the skin. Often this is enough to prevent the wasp from stinging you.