20 BULLETIN 143, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The female Mutillids are noted for the severit}^ of their sting. 

 Whether this reputation is justified or not is very difficult to say. 

 The effect of their sting is regarded by many people as more severe 

 than that of most other Hymenoptera. This is particularly true of 

 the larger species. Mendenhall (1883) describes the effects of the 

 sting of Dasymutilla occidentalis Linnaeus and saj'^s that the sting 

 caused severe pain and considerable swelling, but that the symptoms 

 were not alarming. Deschamps (1898) reports on Dasylabris maura 

 (Linnaeus) on the island of Cypris. He states that they are called 

 " Sphalangids " by the natives and that their sting is regarded as 

 fatal. He was not able to find any evidence in confirmation of the 

 belief. Baer (1901) gives an interesting account of the sting of a 

 Mutillid in Peru. A translation of his article is as follows : 



Regarding the hot forest regions of Peru, my investigations indicated that 

 the stings to be dreaded most are those caused by ants of the genus Ponera and 

 especially by the large Mutillids, which are called the "Isoulo." The suffering 

 caused the natives by these stings is similar to that caused by boiling oil or 

 burning alcohol. The pain may continue for 24 hours or longer without dimin- 

 ishing in intensity, is accompanied by a great inflammation more or less ex- 

 tended, with intense fever, sometimes with delirium and vomiting, and recovery 

 may require several days. I saw a woman stung on the bottom of the foot 

 by an "Isoula," at Tocache, rolling on the ground and crying out. An appli- 

 cation of carbolic acid a quarter of an hour after the accident did not give 

 any relief. In the same village I found an Indian woman to whom the terrible 

 pain caused by the sting of an " Isoula " had caused a premature confinement. 

 The natives do not know any effective remedy for these wounds ; in order to 

 reduce the suffering, the sting, which generally remains in the wound, should 

 be removed immediately with the aid of a needle. Doubtless this is the Mutil- 

 lid that the Indian Quetchuas at the time of the lucas, according to Tschudi, 

 gave the name " Sisi huakan nahui, la fourmi qui fait pleurer." However, 

 they could not have been very sensitive to the pain. While the winged male, 

 without a sting, is found on bushes the female " Isoula," which is apterous 

 and possesses a very long sting, is frequently found on the ground in the paths 

 as well as in the dense forest, so that the Indians who go barefooted or with a 

 single sole fastened on with small cords, are generally stung on the foot ; the 

 traveler is protected from this dreaded insect by good shoes. Very fortunately 

 these Mutillids are always solitary, because if one was attacked by a number 

 of individuals at a time, the wounds caused by the numerous stings would be 

 very serious and might have a fatal result. 



The writer has been stung several times by the species of Mutillids 

 found in Minnesota, but has not found their sting any more painful 

 than that of other Hymenoptera. Usuallj'' the pain ceases 5 or 10 

 minutes after one is stung. It is probable, of course, that some per- 

 sons are more susceptible to the effects of stings than others and that 

 in some cases they might be quite painful. It may also be pointed 

 out that, so far as is known, the sting of the Mutillid does not remain 

 in the wound. 



