38 
Poisonous Arthropods 
them up in water. The somewhat clouded fluid was then filtered 
one or more times. For obtaining still greater quantities, advantage 
was taken of the fact that while alcohol coagulates the poison, the 
active principle remains soluble in water. Hence the stings with 
the annexed glands where collected in 96 per cent alcohol, after 
filtering off of the alcohol were dried at 40° C., then rubbed to a fine 
powder and this was repeatedly extracted with water. Through 
filtering of this aqueous extract there was obtained a yellowish- 
brown fluid which produced the typical reactions, according to con¬ 
centration of the poison. 
The freshly expelled drop of poison is limpid, of distinct acid 
reaction, tastes bitter and has a delicate aromatic odor. On evapora¬ 
tion, it leaves a sticky residue, which at 100 degrees becomes fissured, 
and suggests dried gum arabic. The poison is readily soluble in 
water and possesses a specific gravity of 1.1313. On drying at room 
temperature, it leaves a residue of 30 per cent, which has not lost in 
poisonous action or in solubility. In spite of extended experiments, 
Langer was unable to determine the nature of the active principle. 
He showed that it was not, as had been supposed, an albuminous 
body, but rather an organic base. 
The pure poison, or the two per cent aqueous solution, placed on 
the uninjured skin showed absolutely no irritating effect, though it 
produced a marked reaction on the mucus membrane of the nose or 
eye. A single drop of one-tenth per cent aqueous solution of the 
poison brought about a typical irritation in the conjunctiva of the 
rabbit’s eye. On the other hand, the application of a drop of the 
poison, or its solution, to the slightest break in the skin, or by means 
of a needle piercing the skin, produced typical effects. There is pro¬ 
duced a local necrosis, in the neighborhood of which there is infiltra¬ 
tion of lymphocytes, oedema, and hyperaemia. 
The effect of the sting on man (fig. 27) is usually transitory but 
there are some individuals who are made sick for hours, by a single 
sting. Much depends, too, on the place struck. It is a common 
experience that an angry bee will attempt to reach the eye of its 
victim and a sting on the lid may result in severe and prolonged 
swelling. In the case of a man stung on the cheek, Legiehn observed 
complete aphonia and a breaking out of red blotches all over the 
body. A sting on the tongue has been known to cause such collateral 
oedema as to endanger life through suffocation. Cases of death of 
man from the attacks of bees are rare but are not unknown. Such 
