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 



