If you are stung by a wasp, it will be painful, and your body may react incorrectly. The composition of wasp venom is almost no different from bee venom. After long studies of toxic substances, scientists have established that wasp venom is more allergenic and more often causes dangerous allergic reactions in the body. As you already understand, we will talk about the effect of wasp venom on a person through a bite.

What are the benefits of wasp stings?

Is there any benefit from a wasp sting? Can the poison have a beneficial effect? Let's look at the benefits of a wasp sting for humans.

It is impossible to answer unequivocally. Due to the fact that bee and wasp venoms are similar in composition, those who like to use bee products as medicine think that a wasp sting is as beneficial as a bee sting, and their venom can help against diseases.

If we follow this hypothesis, then the only difficulty before practical use of wasp toxic substances in medicine is that the raw materials are very difficult to obtain. Bees are specially bred and their venom can be obtained in large quantities in the apiary using a well-established method, and you will have to go to the found nest for the wasp venom. Second option: organizing mass construction of nests is possible. They can be populated with wasps. But this method has been little studied, and problems may arise.

Scientists have studied toxic substances wasps and imagine how they behave with various organs and tissues. The effect of the poison, its usefulness or damage directly depend on the reaction of the organism itself to the bite. In the end, even doctors and toxicologists have not made a final decision on whether wasp stings are beneficial. The poison contains many stimulating and tonic components, substances that stimulate metabolism, but their isolation is difficult and unreasonable, because now safer analogues can be found on the market.

The main benefit of wasps is their intensive pollination of plants in the spring together with bees. They are involved in the transfer of pollen from one flower to another, searching for nectar. Thanks to their significant contribution, the level of productivity increases.

In addition, thanks to wasps, it becomes fewer insects that eat fruits or plants. They exterminate pests such as aphids, flies, fleas, caterpillars, bedbugs and others. One individual can destroy up to three dozen pests per day.

And yet, does wasp venom bring benefits or not? A bite will not bring any benefit to a person. But doctors officially use wasp venom. It is used in the manufacture of special vaccines for those susceptible to allergies and in products that are intended to reduce sensitivity to poisons and bites.

The products are removed in the spring, when striped hymenoptera begin to attack. If a person is given the vaccine, he will become immune to wasp venom. That is, the body will not react to the bite.

And in Europe, scientists are researching wasp venom as a drug that can treat cancerous tumors. And there remains hope that they will one day achieve a positive result.

Why are wasp stings harmful?

Wasp venom can do more harm than benefit. It contains allergenic components that are unsafe to the human body. These substances may lead to:

• to increased temperature and mild malaise;
• to difficulty breathing;
• to urticaria;
• to inflammation and swelling;
• to a headache.

The damage from a wasp sting also lies in the sensitization it can cause. This is an increased sensitivity to subsequent bites. In other words, when the first bite causes a serious reaction, subsequent bites will lead to severe complications and death. A large number of bites leads to subcutaneous hemorrhage, necrosis and damage to internal organs, and kidney failure may occur.

The common opinion regarding the question of whether a wasp dies after a sting is that it dies is erroneous. She has a smooth sting that easily comes out of the skin. Therefore, she can sting as much as she wants.

In the most severe cases a wasp sting may be accompanied by confusion and angioedema. The bitten area will begin to rapidly swell, and if at first the size of the tumor is small, then later they increase, and the entire limb may swell.

The worst and main danger of a wasp sting is anaphylactic shock. This is how the organisms of people who are very sensitive to wasp venom react. Because of anaphylactic shock a person may die. It develops at an incredible speed; most often the patient does not have time to be brought to the hospital.

Wasp venom is especially harmful to people who are highly sensitive to insect bites: even one bite can lead to death.

What can you do to alleviate the consequences and not cause yourself even more harm?

1. wash the bite area;
2. carefully remove the sting;
3. disinfect the wound;
4. apply ice to the damaged area;
5. take any antihistamine.

There is little benefit from a wasp sting, but it can cause harm. How it will act and what consequences it will incur depends on how susceptible the body is to insect bites. In most cases, the bite will be accompanied by simply unpleasant or painful sensations.

Many people don’t even think about how bedbugs are dangerous to humans, except for the unpleasant, painful bites implied by their presence. But in fact, painful bites are far from the only problem that bedbugs can cause to humans.

Unfortunately, few ordinary people know what insects from the bedbug family are, why their bites are dangerous, and whether bedbugs themselves are dangerous. In view of this, we propose to consider in as much detail as possible what kind of insects are bedbugs and what dangers they pose.

Harmful insect bug - accurate description of the species

It is believed that bed bugs are representatives of the most common suborder of blood-sucking insects, classified by biologists as hemiptera. Talking about what appearance bed bugs, note that these harmful insects can reach about 3-5 mm in length. Moreover, the size of an adult bedbug directly depends on age.

The development of a simple bedbug usually occurs according to the so-called incomplete cycle of degeneration (or transformation). Namely: the female lays an egg, from which after a while a larva appears, which, in turn, gradually matures, turning into a large mature individual.

It must be said that, despite being considered a source of infection, the bug is still capable, over a fairly long period of time, of preserving pathogens of various diseases in its own body. Pathogens that may well, under certain circumstances, be transmitted to humans through blood. Such diseases, in particular, include:

• Viral etiology of hepatitis B.
• Tularemia.
• Plague.
• Q fever and others.

Of course, medicine has described extremely rare cases of dangerous infectious diseases developing after a house bug bite, as well as in extremely rare cases after mosquito bite, malaria occurs. However, it is simply unacceptable not to know these facts.

Note that bed bugs, with a prolonged lack of food (severe hunger), may well attack a person even during the day, although these cases are quite rare. Bed bugs do not have anything clearly resembling a nest, like ants do. However, bedbugs still tend to organize some clusters of individuals in places that are safe for them, always close to the main food source.

Such places of accumulation of adult bedbugs can be easily detected by the presence dark spots excrement belonging to insects, which are always found simultaneously with eggs and skins of larvae after molting. At the same time, bedbugs equally easily take root in any residential or warehouses. And this absolutely does not depend on the cleanliness of the owners.

Despite the fact that the ability of bedbugs to transmit diseases has not been reliably proven, doctors do not exclude the possibility of bedbugs transmitting microorganisms that cause brucellosis, smallpox, tuberculosis or typhoid fever. Some scientists involved in the problems of bedbugs are convinced that the dark feces of bedbugs can, in turn, contain the so-called Burnet's rickettsia (a family of bacteria that can cause typhus or spotted fever).

The greatest harm from bedbug bites

As we have already said, bedbugs cause their greatest harm to humans by inflicting bites, thereby depriving us of normal rest. But, in some cases, numerous bedbug bites can lead to the development of a severe skin rash, a powerful allergic reaction and become a severe psychological traumatic factor.

When attacking, bedbugs rarely bite a person only once. As a rule, a bug constantly moves across a person’s skin, leaving behind a whole “track” or “chain” of bites. In this case, the distance between adjacent bites can be quite large, or can reach only a few millimeters, thereby forming extensive diffuse spots on the skin. It is believed that if a residential area is heavily infested with bedbugs, more than five hundred itchy and swollen bites are possible per night.

Wasp stings are very painful and can cause a severe reaction in the body, including anaphylactic shock and angioedema. There is an assumption that wasp venom, by analogy with bee venom, has a positive effect on human health. So can wasp venom benefit the human body? This question is not so easy to answer because not enough research has been done to draw definitive conclusions.

The benefit of wasps is that in the spring they, together with bees, take an active part in pollinating plants, carrying pollen from flower to flower on their legs in search of nectar. Thus they make a significant contribution to the overall yield different cultures. In addition, wasps destroy insects that feed on fruits or plants with great appetite. These could be pests such as aphids, caterpillars, bedbugs, flies or other insects. One individual can eat several dozen pests a day.

Impact and composition of the poison

The composition of aspen poison has been studied quite well and scientists know how it acts on different organs and tissues. It all depends on the individual reaction of the body to the bite. For example, many people have an increased sensitivity to Hymenoptera stings. That's why One bite is enough for a person to die. A distinctive feature of wasp venom is its high allergenicity, which can cause anaphylactic shock and Quincke's edema in sensitized people.

Unlike wasp venom, bee venom has been used since ancient times for medicinal purposes. People create apiaries not only to obtain natural honey, but also to purchase bee venom, the benefits of which are considered colossal. Thanks to bee venom, a sharp decrease in cholesterol occurs in the human body. He affects the following physiological processes occurring in the body:

• activates the central nervous system;
• thins the blood;
• dilates blood vessels in the brain;
• lowers blood pressure;
• promotes the functioning of internal glands.

It has been observed that people who are treated with bee stings live significantly longer. But bee venom can also be allergenic for some people, but this is not talked about again.

The main components of wasp venom are:

It should be noted that different wasps have their own specific venom composition. For example, the venom of hornets, which are the largest wasps, contains crabroline and special mastoparan polypeptides. Thanks to such substances, human mast cells are also destroyed, which leads to the release of additional amounts of histamine. According to unconfirmed data, wasp stings (like bees) can be useful in that they increase hemoglobin levels in the blood and reduce cholesterol, as well as dilate blood vessels.

Exposure to small amounts of wasp venom is common leads to a slight intensification of a person’s breathing, an increase in heart rate and increased blood flow to the bitten area. In more severe cases, subcutaneous hemorrhages, severe swelling, shortness of breath, heart pain, confusion, dizziness, and vomiting are observed.

Harm of a wasp sting

A wasp sting causes much more harm than good. For example, The following body conditions may develop:

• a pain syndrome occurs, which subsequently turns into itching;
• an allergic reaction may develop, which after some time manifests itself as urticaria, headaches, Quincke's edema and even anaphylactic shock;
• inflammation and swelling appear, destruction of soft tissue cells and the walls of blood vessels occurs;
• Body temperature rises, slight malaise may occur.

It is also harmful because it can cause sensitization - increased sensitivity to bites that will be inflicted subsequently. This means that if there are no serious complications with the first bite, then subsequent ones can cause more severe allergic reactions, even death. It should also be noted that numerous wasp stings can lead to subcutaneous hemorrhages, damage to internal organs, necrosis, and sometimes kidney failure.

Protection measures

A wasp sting is harmful primarily to those who are particularly susceptible to poison. In this case, it is recommended to carry out preventive vaccination, due to which histamine and toxins are introduced into the body in small quantities. Vaccination should be done in the second half of summer, when insects become active.

With timely measures taken, you can avoid a strong reaction from the body, which appears very quickly. It should be noted that This type of vaccination is not particularly popular among the population., but allergy sufferers should pay attention to this. You should also protect people from wasps as much as possible. Thanks to various means and devices can quickly get rid of insects both on outdoors, and indoors.

Thus, one cannot speak affirmatively about the benefits of wasp stings. Most often, they cause pain to a person, and in many people this threatens to turn into an allergic reaction, which can result not only in anaphylactic shock, but also in death.

Wasps benefit and harm

Wasps: benefits and harms - which outweighs

People treat wasps with caution and hostility, expecting a sudden attack and bite. In fact, predatory insects are not that aggressive. If they are not provoked by sudden movements, then they calmly fly away about their business. Being close to wasps can be beneficial for gardeners. During the day, one female catches 20-30 pests - flies, caterpillars, beetles, butterflies. Small insects serve as food for the larvae. In nature, the benefits and harms of wasps balance each other. Stinging insects are part of the food chain; if this link is removed, an environmental disaster will occur. Is peaceful coexistence between humans and wasps possible?

Description and lifestyle

Wasps, together with their closest relatives bees and bumblebees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Numerous insect species have general structure bodies. Their chest and abdomen are connected by a thin, stalk-like waist. Adults have two pairs of membranous wings. Large eyes have a complex structure that allows them to see in several directions. Powerful jaws are adapted for gnawing fruit peels, removing bark from branches, and tearing apart prey. The body is covered with many hairs. Movable antennae are an organ of smell and help determine the size of the honeycomb when building a nest.

Information. The presence of a narrow waist allows the wasps to fold in half and sting the enemy from any angle. This quality helps to cope with a large opponent.

Among stinging insects there are solitary and social wasps. Only some species have the usual yellow-black coloration. For example, the chitinous shell of the lustrous wasp shimmers with a blue, purple and green metallic sheen. German females are densely covered with red hairs and have patterns on their abdomen. The size of the wasp imago ranges from 5 to 100 mm. Insects differ not only in size and color, but also in behavioral characteristics.

Wasps are natural predators

Adult wasps, regardless of species, feed on plant foods. They prefer to collect nectar and drink juice from soft, rotten fruits. Protein food is necessary for growing larvae and the queen. To obtain food, adults have to hunt. The wasp, a polyphagous predator, is useful in controlling insect populations.

Information. Pompilid road wasps can cope with poisonous tarantulas. With a quick blow, they paralyze the spider and drag it into the hole to feed the larva.

Female solitary wasps make nests in the ground or plant stems. They leave food for their offspring in the form of paralyzed insects. Social wasps live in colonies. The colony is ruled by a queen who lays eggs. Worker wasps help care for the larvae and build multi-tiered nests. In the fall, the home is empty; only fertilized young queens survive the winter.

Striped predators

Scolia are primitive solitary wasps that help exterminate the larvae of lamellar beetles. The sizes of insects are from 10 to 100 mm, the wingspan is 60-100 mm. The body color is black, with bright yellow or red spots on the abdomen. Membranous wings with a purple sheen. Females lay eggs on the larva of the beetle, bronze beetle, and rhinoceros beetle. Scolia does not kill the victim, but immobilizes it. The larva that emerges from the egg begins to feed from the least important organs. This natural instinct helps keep food fresh for a long time.

Scolia on a beetle larva

Scolia's closest relative is Typhia. It is smaller in size (5-12 mm), the body is uniformly colored black. The female lays eggs on the larvae of pests - bread beetles. Thick-legged typhias live in Russia. This species has red-brown limbs. The entire body is covered with white hairs. Females dig a tunnel to a depth of 10 cm to paralyze the June beetle and lay an egg. After a few hours, the beetle larva is able to move, but its existence will not last long.

This is what Tiffia looks like

Information. The Larra wasp acts in a similar way, only it leaves its offspring to feed on mole crickets.

Striped paper wasps catch pests not in the ground, but on the surface and in the air. Their favorite prey is flies. They do not avoid caterpillars, bugs, leaf rollers, mosquitoes, or aphids.

Paper wasps kill flies

Wasps and flowers

What other benefits are there from wasps? So that the plants give good harvest, pollination is necessary. About 20% of crops can be wind pollinated or self-pollinated. The rest need helpers to transfer pollen. Traditionally it is believed that bees do this. But wasps do the same thing. Adults eat plant foods. They love nectar, so they fly from one flower to another. Pollen clings to the legs and body, covered with hairs, and ends up on other flowers. The flight radius of a bee is limited by the location of the apiary, and their striped relatives settle anywhere. Wasps play a subtle but significant role in pollination.

Insects help pollinate

Why don't people like wasps?

If the benefits of striped insects are not always noticeable, then people feel the full extent of the harm from them. It manifests itself not only in bites, but also in eaten fruits and berries.

Spoiled Harvest

After pollination of plants, insects lay claim to the fruits. They prefer soft, sweet fruits. A large swarm can cause damage a large number of apples, pears, plums, raspberries. Grapes are especially affected. Wasps, with their strong mandibles, easily gnaw through the skin and drink the juice. Damaged berries impair the presentation of the bunches.

Used to control insects various ways:

• hang baits;
• destroy nests;
• grapes are treated with chemicals;
• The bunches are wrapped in special bags.

Wasps destroy grapes

Bee exterminators

Beekeepers experience the greatest harm from wasps. Predators are attracted to the aroma of sweet honey. They sneak into the hive and eat the supplies prepared by the bees. Lack of food weakens the brood. In addition, a battle ensues between bees and wasps, in which many honey plants die. A strong family is able to fight off paper wasp invaders, but a weak one may not be able to cope.

The attack on the apiary by the largest representatives of the wasp family - hornets - turns out to be critical. Striped giants are significantly larger than bees. They easily tear apart prey, grabbing it on the fly. A hive with honey and insects becomes an ideal food source for them.

Hornet vs bees

Another enemy of beekeepers is the philanthus or bee wolf. This is a solitary wasp small size 10-17 mm. She paralyzes her victim with a stinger blow under the chin. This place is not protected by chitin and the poison quickly enters the main nerve ganglion. Nectar is very harmful to the offspring of the philanthus. He carefully crushes the killed victim with his paws, squeezing out the contents of the abdomen. The nectar is eaten by the adult, and the bee's body is given to the larvae.

A wasp sting is painful and dangerous

Insects use two types of self-defense. The first is the repellent coloring. It signals to birds and reptiles that the wasps are poisonous. As active protection they use a sting located at the end of the abdomen. Over the years of evolution, the female's ovipositor has turned into a hard tube. The smooth organ does not get stuck in the skin, so the insect is capable of inflicting many bites. The sting is connected to a gland that produces poison. The chemical composition of the toxic substance varies depending on the type of wasp. In case of danger, the insect releases a special enzyme that calls the rest of the family to help. Having disturbed one individual, you may encounter an attack by a whole swarm.

Information. Insects with highly toxic poison include Asian hornets. Several people die from their stings every year. An attack by road wasps is not fatal, but extremely unpleasant. Their bite is in second place in terms of pain, second only to tropical ants.

After a bite, the following symptoms may appear:

• burning and itching;
• redness and swelling;
• headache;
• increased heart rate.

Attention. A bite to the neck area is extremely dangerous; it causes suffocation. People who are allergic to wasp venom may experience anaphylactic shock. They need to be taken to the hospital.

Reaction to a wasp sting

The stung person should be given first aid. The bite site is treated antiseptic– hydrogen peroxide, alcohol tincture. To decrease painful sensations and relieve swelling, use a cold compress.

How to kill stinging insects

No matter how great the benefits of wasps in nature are, in some cases people have to take extreme measures and destroy dangerous neighbors. To reduce the number of insects, special traps are used. These are homemade or purchased containers with sweet bait. Individuals that fly into them cannot get out. You can get rid of the nest using modern insecticidal preparations. Aerosol products - Dr. Klaus, Mosquitoll. Dichlorvos allows you to quickly and effectively destroy stinging insects. In an effective way is burning the nest. But you won’t be able to use it under the roof of a house or on a tree.

Everything that is created by nature has its purpose. Beneficial insects, wasps, should not be underestimated. Without these tireless hunters, cities would have to fight off hordes of flies. In the gardens, predators destroy harmful insects, allowing you to use chemicals less often.

Have you read it? Don't forget to rate (votes: 1, average rating: 5.00 out of 5) Loading...

THE LAST NOTES

Recent comments

beetlestop.ru

Wasp - benefits and harm to humans

Wasps are a very common insect that people associate with painful stings. Moreover, these insects may well bring not only harm, but also certain benefits to human homes.

Main types of OS:

Judging by the name, it is easy to determine that representatives of the first group prefer to live independently. As for social wasps, they build nests for a large colony, which also reproduces quite quickly. The impressive population of the corresponding insects may well cause significant harm to people. First of all, this concerns the high risk of attack. The fact is that wasps actually regard any approach to their nest as an attack, to which they immediately respond with aggressive actions.

Features of reproduction

To begin with, you should understand that the entire swarm of insects presented lives only one season. Next year a new population appears. Before studying the benefits and harms of wasps, it is necessary to study the main features of their existence, reproduction and life activity. IN spring period During the year, females are engaged in the manufacture of cells in which eggs are subsequently laid. If we talk about single wasps, then the hatched larvae are able to develop independently. They live in outbuildings, in warehouses and cottages. After the offspring have grown up, they go to free bread.

Social wasps that live in families have their own uterus. It is she who is responsible for building the nest. After infertile females are born, they are also included in this process. The entire development period from egg to adult lasts for one month. This information is as interesting as the wasp's benefits and harms, which attracts the attention of average citizens.

At the beginning of the development of the larvae, the queen feeds them with pre-prepared sugary substances. In the future, the diet of future individuals expands due to the consumption of insects carefully chewed by females. Do not forget that the larvae may well consume certain foods found in the kitchen of a human home. This is one of the main dangers of the creatures presented. In the most suitable conditions for existence, the number of one swarm of corresponding insects may well reach 1000 individuals.

Wasp benefits and harm

On the other hand, described above positive point continues exactly until the presented predator settles in the apiary in its own nest. Immediately after this, they are automatically reclassified as pests. The fact is that the main delicacy for them is bees.

When studying the benefits and harms of wasps, it is necessary to understand that these creatures, during their short existence, are still involved in pollinating a variety of plants. It would seem that this factor is positive. However, the proximity of a wasp to a person is increasingly undesirable. Many people who have previously encountered the corresponding problem will confirm this statement. First of all, the danger lies in the fact that wasps are very aggressive against those people and animals that even involuntarily approach their home. In this case, it is quite possible to become a victim of numerous bites, which subsequently lead to the development of an allergic reaction and quite serious diseases.

The bites of the described insects themselves are very painful, as many members of society know. If their nest has formed very close to a living space, then people cannot escape attack. It is better to immediately deal with this home or seek help from qualified specialists. It is especially important to do this if there are small children living in the house. Because their immune system is not fully developed, they are the first to experience the most severe manifestations of an allergic reaction. Their body may well face full-fledged poisoning.

xn----7sb7asiai9f.xn--p1ai

Why are wasps needed - their role and functions in nature

Unlike their closest relatives, bees, wasps have not received love and respect from humans. They are not suppliers of honey, they bite painfully, and some even cause death. Therefore, the question involuntarily arises: why are wasps needed and are there any benefits from them in nature?

Small insect exterminators

Adults feed on nectar and fruit extract. But the larvae need constant replenishment of protein. To do this, wasps prey on other insects, including flies, mosquitoes, spiders, aphids, and garden pests.

A fly is the easiest prey for a wasp

A flexible body structure, powerful jaws, a sting equipped with poison - nature generously endowed the “minke whales” with all this for a reason. Thanks to this arsenal, they can sting the enemy from almost any angle. They deal with small, weak opponents with the help of mandibles, crushing the skull or chitinous cover into small pieces. Wasps use a sting on stronger insects, which, unlike bees, they freely remove after an attack. Depending on the species, the composition of the poison differs and can either simply paralyze the victim or provoke its death.

Scientists, answering the question of what wasps are for, say that without them, a person would simply be horrified by the number of insects that exist in nature. First of all, this applies to flies, midges, beetles and spiders.

Helpers in personal plots

Wasps play a significant role in nature by destroying garden pests. For example, the burrowing single Larra wasp helps in destroying a dangerous pest - the mole cricket. She is absolutely indifferent to other insects and animals.

Despite the fact that the wasp is smaller in size than the mole cricket, it easily deals with it

Larra hunts in a very unique and masterly way. The insect drives the pest out of the ground and injects its poison into it through its sting. The wasp lays its egg in the paralyzed victim. The mole cricket acts as an incubator for the development of offspring. While the larva develops, the donor remains alive, supplying the young individual with all the necessary nutritional components. After the last molt, the mole cricket dies. Much attention is paid to the reproduction and attraction of Larry wasps to garden plots in the USA. For this purpose, special research is carried out to identify which plants can attract beneficial wasps.

But slender insects help fight not only mole crickets. Giant scolia, in addition to pollinating flowers, regulate the number of bronze beetles, beetles, and rhinoceros beetles. Like the Larra wasp, Scolia lays eggs on its prey.

Tiny Spilomena troglodytes wasps destroy thrips. Other species with amazing diligence catch caterpillars of moths, leaf rollers, leaf beetles, bugs, cicadas, weevils, and horse flies.

Adult wasps spend a lot of time on flowers

We must not forget that the functions of wasps in nature include pollination of plants and flowers, which is important for their development and reproduction.

Wasps in medicine

The venom of Brazilian wasps is unique in its composition. As a result of many years of research, it was revealed that the venom of these wasps is capable of destroying cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue. The reason for this phenomenal effect lies in the special structure of the protein, which, interacting with the fats of cancer cells, converts them into a liquid substance.

It is already reliably known that the venom of the Brazilian wasp has shown its effectiveness against prostate cancer, Bladder and blood.

Now scientists are hard at work in laboratories to create a synthetic analogue of the unique protein. It is possible that in a few years humanity will receive a universal cure for oncological diseases.

Wasps - protectors of weak insects

Without knowing it, wasps indirectly protect other insects. Hunting abilities, aggressive disposition, and deadly sting force other representatives of the fauna to refrain from contact with the striped predator. Weaker individuals took note of this attitude towards the wasps and “borrowed their colorful outfit.”

Perhaps no insect has as many imitators as wasps. Striped colors help protect flies, hoverflies, beetles, butterflies and many other harmless creatures from birds and predators.

The benefits and role of wasps in nature cannot be underestimated. Urban individuals regulate the number of flies, which carry millions of dangerous bacteria on their legs. In garden plots, they help get rid of garden pests without resorting to the use of chemicals. A wasp attacks a person only when it senses an emanating threat. If you don’t panic at the sight of it, don’t wave your arms vigorously, and don’t try to kill it, the bright insect will fly by and not cause any harm.

Have you read it? Don't forget to rate (votes: 21, average rating: 4.57 out of 5) Loading...

THE LAST NOTES

Recent comments

beetlestop.ru

Wasp venom: is it useful for the human body and how does it work?

Wasp venom is quite close in composition to bee venom. In addition, many people who are bitten cannot even say for sure whether they were stung by a wasp or a bee - the effects of the poison on the affected tissue are so similar.

Today, scientists have managed to study the composition of both bee and wasp poisons quite well. At the same time, an important distinctive feature: wasp venom is somewhat more allergenic and more often leads to complications in the form of various manifestations of dangerous allergic reactions (for example, Quincke's edema, anaphylactic shock). However, you should not think that from this point of view bee venom is harmless - it is also “good” for this, just with a little less probability.

Partly for this reason, “constriction” is not generally known as a traditional medicine method. Despite the fact that bee stinging is a fairly common and well-known procedure.

On a note

There is an opinion among experts that the notorious apitherapy and the benefits of bee venom are nothing more than marketing ploy beekeepers who need to sell excess of their products. Not a single serious study has confirmed, for example, the benefits of bee stinging, just as the healing properties of other apitherapy methods have not been proven.

It is highly likely that the benefits of propolis, wax moths, royal jelly and bee venom are nothing more than a placebo effect, and these beekeeping products have become widespread precisely because of their availability: they can be obtained from apiaries in almost any quantity.

But it is extremely difficult to obtain wasp venom, because no one breeds them on purpose, and you need to go into the nest of wild wasps to get the drug. And this is another explanation why, despite the similarity of composition, the venoms of these closely related insects vary so much in popularity in folk medicine.

As a result, even doctors and toxicologists today cannot always say unambiguously whether wasp venom is beneficial for humans. It actually contains stimulating and tonic components, substances that stimulate metabolism, but isolating them from the poison is not rational - there are many much safer analogues of both natural and synthetic origin on the market today.

But due to the large number of harmful and allergenic components, using unprepared wasp venom for treatment can be very dangerous.

The composition of wasp venom and the effect of its components on the human body

In the vast majority of cases, wasps use their sting primarily for the purpose of self-defense, and only in rare cases to kill larger and overly aggressive prey. Therefore, as a rule, the main purpose of a wasp sting is to cause severe pain in the victim and scare him away.

The composition of wasp venom includes a set of substances that have a strong effect on nerve endings and cause a rapid immune response in the body. Among the main components the following components can be distinguished:

In hornets, the venom also includes specific mastoparan toxins, which have a powerful destructive effect on cells.

“I was once stung by a hornet. In the apiary, I got used to bee stings, they don’t bother me at all, I boldly catch and crush philants. But the hornet hit me so hard that my vision went dark. It’s good that all the evidence was closed. I just walked to the trailer and lay down to lie down. The pain was hellish, it took my heart, all I could think about was to put something cold on my hand. It was badly blown, all the way to the shoulder, and it was very itchy. My apiary neighbor offered to take me to the hospital, but everything turned out okay. The next day, only the itching remained, and then gradually the swelling began to subside.”

Mikhail, Semipalatinsk

Consequences of wasp venom on the human body

Now let's see how wasp venom works, so to speak, at the macro level, that is, what symptoms arise.

At the moment of sting, the effect of the poison injected under the skin causes sharp pain, and almost immediately leads to the appearance of a small pale swelling at the site of the bite. After a few minutes, the bite swells more, may turn red, becomes hard, and a feeling of severe itching appears on the skin in its area. At this time, the first symptoms of an allergy may appear - hives, fever, shortness of breath, headache, confusion.

The most severe consequence of a wasp sting is anaphylactic shock - an extreme allergic reaction. It occurs rarely and only in people who are hypersensitive to the venoms of hymenoptera insects. But it is precisely because of anaphylactic shock that the number of deaths from wasp and hornet bites is so high. This reaction develops very quickly, literally within a few minutes after the bite, and sometimes the victim does not even have time to be taken to the hospital.

By and large, the benefit of wasp venom, even if it exists, is completely outweighed by the risk of a dangerous allergic reaction (especially considering that with every next bite The body's sensitivity to poison may increase).

“People are regularly brought to our hospital who are attacked by huge hornets. There are many beekeeping farms in the area, and hornets actively populate all the surrounding forests, as they constantly fight with bees. Usually, after a bite, the patient develops a severe allergy, limited to swelling and rashes on the skin; the temperature may rise and pain in the head may appear. But sometimes there are severe cases, with hemorrhages, laryngeal edema and anaphylaxis. Last year, for example, there were two deaths, one of which was a 12-year-old girl.”

Naomi Kurosaki, Saito

But after special processing in laboratory conditions, wasp venom can become much safer and more useful.

Use of wasp venom in medicine

It is for allergy sufferers, for whom wasp stings lead to serious consequences, that special vaccines are prepared based on wasp venom. They reduce the titer of histamine and some toxins, but retain the original amount of specific components for which the immune system a person will be able to identify the poison.

Before the warm season of the year, when there is a chance of being stung, the patient is vaccinated to develop a normal immune response to the bite. As a result, after an accidental encounter with a wasp, a person’s reaction to a sting will be much less pronounced and not so life-threatening.

Wasp venom can also be useful due to the actual toxins that are part of it. For example, in Barcelona, ​​the development of a method of combating cancer tumors, based on the destruction of cancer cells precisely by the biological components of wasp venom, began quite a long time ago.

Scientists are trying to combine toxin molecules with transport protein molecules that will deliver the poison directly to cancer cells without affecting healthy ones. This drug has already proven its effectiveness in mice, and work is currently underway to study its effect on human tissue.

The most poisonous wasps in the world

Although all wasps are poisonous, the strength of the poison and the consequences of the bites vary from one type of wasp to another. In different representatives of the suborder, the ratio of venom components can vary greatly, and many of them have unique components in their venom that have a specific effect on the victim.

For example, the most painful bite is from road wasps of the genus Pepsis. Most representatives of this genus specialize in preying on tarantulas for their larvae. Their bite is considered one of the most painful insects in the world, and is second in strength only to the bite of the South American ant Paraponera clavata.

The bite of a huge hornet (Vespa Mandarinia), which lives in Southeast Asia and Japan, is statistically the most dangerous among wasps. Every year, about 40 people die from attacks by these insects in Japan alone, and the number of victims throughout the entire habitat of these hornets exceeds a hundred.

The composition of the venom of a huge hornet differs little from the composition of the venom of the European hornet, but in one bite the insect introduces a significantly larger dose of toxins into the human body. In addition, when attacking, a hornet can make several stings at once with a short interval, which often leads to further hemorrhages and extensive swelling. We can say that the huge hornet is the most poisonous wasp in the world.

But Scolia wasps, despite their truly gigantic size, sting rather weakly. Their venom is designed to paralyze prey rather than scare away the enemy, which is why entomologists boldly catch these large black wasps with their bare hands.

And in conclusion, we note once again: you should not expect that wasp venom will be beneficial for the body. In case of an accidental sting, this, of course, could be a small consolation, but you should not deliberately catch wasps and apply them to the body, because even possible positive effects from the bite will be offset by severe pain, unpleasant swelling and the risk of developing a dangerous allergic reaction.

Useful video: what to do if you develop a dangerous allergic reaction to wasp and bee stings

Methods of protection for people prone to severe allergies to insect bites

Your phone has been sent.

We will definitely call you soon.

If we consider the process of a mosquito bite from a medical perspective, then the danger directly in the insect bite itself does not exist for most people. However, this is exactly what we can observe today - each of us during the warm season of the year is gnawed by these bloodthirsty insects, and we don’t care.

However, there are people who are susceptible to mosquito bites due to their allergic reaction to substances contained in mosquito saliva. As you know, when a mosquito inserts its proboscis under the skin, it finds a blood vessel required diameter, such that this very proboscis fits into it, breaks through its wall and, before taking the first sip, injects its biological fluids, which scientists call saliva, into the bite site.

Mosquito saliva contains protein structures that have analgesic and anticoagulant (prevents blood clotting) effects. Thus, nature helps the mosquito to perform the act of taking blood as quickly as possible in order to reduce the amount of time during which the insect can be destroyed by its owner.

The protein introduced by the mosquito is foreign to our body, and it tries to eliminate it as quickly as possible by connecting immune cells. These immune bodies flock to the site of the bite and the active process deactivation of foreign protein, which is essentially a local microallergic reaction that promotes the production of histamine and other substances that contribute to the course of allergies. It is for this reason that at the site of the bite we can observe all the signs of a similar process - redness and swelling.

In people who are healthy in this regard, the immune system quickly copes with foreign proteins at the local level, and the problem disappears after 2-3 days.

However, in people who are particularly susceptible to such substances, a phenomenon called sensitization may occur, when the allergic reaction is so active that it affects all systems of the body. Such people, after several mosquito bites, may experience general signs fever, shortness of breath, disturbances in the functioning of the heart, which without the participation of doctors can lead to such a dangerous condition as anaphylaxis, often resulting in death.

Fortunately, few people experience this type of problem. There are much fewer people allergic to mosquito bites than those who react similarly to bee stings. This is why large mosquitoes in Russia are dangerous.

The most dangerous mosquitoes, or Why mosquitoes are dangerous to humans

The second problem associated with mosquito bites is the possibility of contracting a serious infectious disease, the causative agents of which insects can transmit from person to person. However, it is immediately worth noting that residents middle zone Russia is much luckier, since in our area there are almost no mosquitoes that could carry this kind of disease, with the exception of the southern regions. But residents of the North and South American continents, Africa and Australia were much less fortunate. They have every chance of contracting a fatal disease from a mosquito bite and here are some of them.

Having met in almost every country of the Northern and South America on February 1, 2016, was announced as a global emergency in public health. The disease does cause a rare birth defect called microcephaly, a neurological disorder that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and developmental abnormalities.

The Zika virus is usually transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito, or more precisely, two representatives of this mosquito genus - the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). However, it is worth adding that the disease can also be spread through sexual contact.

These types of mosquitoes are quite aggressive daytime blood-sucking insects. The Asian tiger mosquito, which is found in all tropical and subtropical territories, also transmits dengue fever and a disease with the simple name Chikungunya, which are no less dangerous to human life.

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the disease, so travelers traveling through Zika virus-infected areas are required to prevent mosquito bites as their best and only protection against the disease. Pregnant women should avoid traveling to countries where Zika is present due to the risk to their unborn children.

Most people infected with Zika (80%) have no symptoms or don't realize they have them. Clinical signs, as a rule, soft and sluggish. Common symptoms include mild fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

The World Health Organization estimates that 3 to 4 million people across the Americas will be infected with the virus next year in 2017. To date, Zika virus is actively transmitted locally in Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay , Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Suriname, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

Dangerous mosquitoes in Russia from the genus Aedes are found in a very narrow range, limited to the Caucasian Black Sea coast and Abkhazia.

It should be noted that in order for a mosquito to become a carrier of the Zika virus, it must first bite a person sick with the disease. While there are no such people on our territory, we have nothing to fear, however, for preventive purposes, this moment An active campaign is underway to eliminate mosquitoes that are dangerous for pregnant Russian women.

Malaria

It is only during the last stage of development of Plasmodium in the blood system that infected patients begin to exhibit symptoms such as fever, chills, sweating, headaches and other flu-like conditions. The infection can sometimes produce even more severe reactions, including kidney failure, which often results in death, especially if the disease is not treated.

Malaria can be transmitted certain types mosquitoes called Anopheles malaria. But, as in the case of the Zika virus, not always where there is a malaria mosquito, there will be malaria itself. For the transfer of plasmodium, environmental conditions are necessary, and these are frost-free winters and wet swampy places, which can only be found in our southern regions.

In Soviet times, a lot of effort was made to combat malaria on the territory of the Union, especially in the resort areas of Sochi. However, due to the collapse of the country and the distraction of attention, the disease began to reappear. To date. Local diseases of malaria are isolated cases, but it is still possible to catch the disease.

The viral infection is carried in the blood of birds. Culex mosquitoes acquire it by feeding on the blood of infected birds, and then, after the pathogen spreads through the mosquito's systems, the insects transmit it to humans through their saliva during feeding.

West Nile virus multiplies in the human bloodstream and is transferred to the brain, where it begins to affect the central nervous system. nervous system and causes inflammation of brain tissue in a process better known as encephalitis. If this occurs, the patient will develop heat, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and stiff neck. In the most severe cases, the infection can lead to seizures, coma, and death. Even if a severely infected person survives, there is a high chance of permanent neurological deficits.

There is no specific treatment for West Nile virus.

However, only one in 150 people infected with the disease will experience severe symptoms. People over 50 are most at risk. About 80% of those infected show no symptoms at all.

Researchers believe that people who become infected immediately develop natural immunity to West Nile virus that will last the rest of their lives.

Like previous diseases, West Nile fever originates from hot Africa. In Russia, this disease did not occur until 1999; since that date, more and more cases have been registered in the south of the country - the Volgograd, Astrakhan, Rostov, Voronezh, Lipetsk regions and the Krasnodar Territory.

This is another infection caused by one of four viruses characteristic of tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. Is the disease spread by Aedes mosquitoes? in much the same way as West Nile fever and other encephalitic viruses. A mosquito is capable of transmitting dengue about a week after biting an infected person.

As the dengue virus multiplies and damages the body's cells, an infected person begins to exhibit symptoms similar to other infections: high fever, headaches, back and joint pain, rashes and sore eyes. If the fever lasts up to a week, it is usually accompanied by bruising and bleeding - the main symptoms hemorrhagic fever dengue.

The mortality rate for hemorrhagic fever is about 5 percent.

About 100 million people worldwide become infected with dengue fever every year, especially in Africa and tropical regions of the Western Hemisphere. The disease is more common in Southeast Asia, where children are particularly susceptible.

As with most viruses, there is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Doctors recommend acetaminophen, plenty of fluids, and rest. Hospitalization is indicated in the presence of hemorrhagic fever. In the territory Russian Federation Cases of dengue fever are exclusively imported.

Flaviviruses, the causative agents of yellow fever, are common among primates in Africa and South America. Like dengue, this disease is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, especially the yellow fever species.

The virus incubates in the body for three to six days until the infected person begins to show general symptoms infections - fever, chills, headache and nausea. There may be a brief remission during the course of the disease before the disease returns with much more severe symptoms such as nosebleeds, hemorrhagic vomiting and abdominal pain.

Case fatality rates range from 15 to 50 percent.

While there is no cure for yellow fever, vaccination against the infection is available for people living or traveling in climates where the disease is common. It doesn't exist in Russia.

Chikungunya

Chikungunya is caused by a virus that spreads to humans through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes.

The incubation period is usually 3-7 days, and symptoms may include sudden fever, joint pain with or without swelling, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, lower back pain and rash.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent this disease. Treatment is purely symptomatic, aimed at relieving symptoms of fever and pain. The disease occurs in Africa, but the first case was recorded in America in 2014. Not yet found in Russia.

Our readers often ask - why are mosquitoes dangerous for dogs? Of all the diseases listed above, dogs can be affected by the West Nile virus, but for the regions of Russia it is not yet terrible. However, mosquitoes can transmit another serious disease to animals that is not dangerous to humans - heartworm disease, or heartworm disease.