358 



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Re§ult§ of Bee-Sting Poison in 

 tbe Human System. 



Written for the American BeeJourtml 



Qnery 634.— Does a person's system ever 

 retain any of the poison from bee-stings, so 

 as to come to the surface in the form of car- 

 buncles, blood-bolls, felons, etc. ? My experi- 

 ence for 15 years says that in some cases it 

 does, and it may be a secondary. If not a 

 primary, cause.— New Tork. 



I think not. My experience has been 

 the reverse of yours. — Eugene Secor. 



From my own experience and obser- 

 vation, I should say no. — Mhs. L. Har- 

 rison. 



We do not believe that it has any 

 such lasting effect. We never had a 

 carbuncle, boil, or felon, and have had 

 lots of bee-stings. — Dadant & Son. 



I think not ; but a medical expert 

 could answer this question better. — C. 



H. DiBBERN. 



I do not think that I have ever ex- 

 perienced anything of the kind. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



1 do not know, but I am rather of 

 the opinion that your idea is right, or 

 at least partly correct. — James Hed- 



DON. 



I have no personal experience in 

 that kind of a phenomenon, though I 

 have read of it.— J. M. Hambaugh. 



My experience would say no. I have 

 had small pimples with suppuration to 

 appear a few hours after being stung, 

 but they very soon disappeared. — M. 

 Mahin. 



My experience says not, in any sound 

 and healthy persons. No doubt that 

 in any one affected with scrofula, etc., 

 it may have the tendency to produce 

 such. — P. L. VlALLON. 



A physician at my elbow says that 

 he never knew any secondary conse- 

 quences to come from the poison from 

 bee-stings. — R. L. Taylor. 



No. I have never seen any evi- 

 dence that bee-sting poison will cause 

 the maladies named. The worst cases 

 of carbuncles, boils, etc., that I have 

 treated, were in persons who were 

 probably never stung by a bee. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



I have never experienced any 

 trouble of this sort, nor have 1 known 

 any one who has. Mr. Langstroth, 

 Mr. Heddon and some others suffer 

 from bee-poison. — J. M. Shuck. 



I think not. You know that bee- 

 stings are recommended as medicine 

 for " dropsical conditions of the cellu- 

 lar tissue, skin, serous and mucous 



membranes, and the glandular system." 

 Ahem ! — Mahala B. Chaddock. 



I have never known any instance of 

 this kind ; and I believe it safe to say 

 that bee-poison (formic acid) is never 

 a, primary cause. — Will M. Barnum. 



It is possible for a person, from re- 

 peated application of the sting, to be- 

 come inured to the action of the 

 poison ; and it is quite likely that there 

 are persons with some idiosyncrasy of 

 constitution where such symptoms may 

 manifest themselves, although I have 

 never met such cases. — J.P.H. Brown. 



I think not. Through some impaired 

 condition of the body, stings may be 

 more severe in their effects, and the 

 body suffer from various diseases and 

 maladies ; but I doubt if one causes 

 the other. The enfeebled body suffers 

 more from both. — A. J. CooK. 



I do not know. I never knew a 

 bee-keeper to be troubled that waj', un- 

 less he was pretty well filled with beer 

 or whisky, and then he blames the 

 bee- stings. I have had my wrists so 

 filled with poison from bee-stings, as 

 to be almost paralyzed, and I never 

 had a carbuncle, a boil, or a felon. — 

 A. B. Mason. 



I think that you are mistaken. Pre- 

 vious to my keeping bees I used to 

 have boils, etc., but for the last 20 

 years, having received thousands of 

 stings during that time, I have not had 

 a single boil or anything of the kind. 

 I am pretty well satisfied that the sting 

 of the bee does not have any effect on 

 a person whatever, aside from the 

 smart and swelling caused at the time. 

 — G. M. Doolittle. 



I do not think that a positive answer 

 can be given, based upon any certain 

 proofs. In my opinion, however, the 

 bee-poison is not so retained in the 

 system, as to produce any permanent 

 or constitutional effect. How can it 

 be a secondary cause of blood-poison- 

 ing, when it is antiseptic in its nature? 

 — -J. E. Pond. 



I would suggest that a healthy 

 "system" by the assistance of "na- 

 ture," is capable of throwing off" all 

 acid poison that it is likely to absorb 

 from the honej-bee. I have observed, 

 however, that at certain seasons of the 

 year, I have felt a peculiar sensation 

 at times ; as, for instance, a stinging 

 " twitch " in certain parts of the body 

 that forcibly reminds me of a bee- 

 sting ; but these sensations are of a 

 nervous character, and may result 

 from some other cause. — G. W. Dem- 

 aree. 



It is not a primary or secondary 

 cause of boils, etc. When the system 

 is deranged or diseased, the sting often 

 causes much trouble, and sometimes 

 death. — The Editor. 



THE LOCUSTS. 



Interesting Facts about the 17- 

 Year Locusts. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY prof. a. j. cook. 



I have received the following letter 

 from Mr. J. T. Wilson, of Little Hick- 

 man, Ky., who desires a reply in the 

 American Bee Journal : 



The 17year locusts are making their ap- 

 pearance here just now. I would like to have 

 .vou write an article tor the American 

 Beb Journal, and tell all you know about 

 them. We know that they come every 17 

 years, and lay their eggs iu twigs of trees. 

 Now where are they, and in what state are 

 they, until they appear again ? 



The cicada 17-decim — 17-year cicada 

 (locust, though a common name, is yet 

 an improper one) are very curious in- 

 sects. First, they come once in 17 

 years, because it takes them nearly 

 that long to develop as larva. Again, 

 they come in great numbers, so that 

 they attract much attention. 



Thirdly, they make a whirring, 

 shrill noise, doubtless their love-song, 

 which, when thej" are very common, 

 makes the trees ring ; so that it is not 

 possible to hear much else when a 

 swarm of these cicadw appear. It is 

 hard to visit under trees when cicadas 

 are abundant, and are holding a con- 

 cert to charm their mates. 



Lastly, thej- cut into twigs and 

 branches of fruit and other tj'ees to lay 

 their eggs ; and so they do great harm 

 at times. 



The 17-year cicada is a black, robust 

 insect, with strong red-colored veins 

 to the wings. The males have a 

 strange musical apparatus at the base 

 of their wings. They come from May 

 to August, depending upon the lati- 

 tude. After pairing, the female cuts 

 into limbs and twigs to lay her eggs, 

 thus often injuring orchards quite 

 seriously. When the eggs hatch, the 

 larva; fall to the ground, and enter the 

 earth, where they feed on roots of 

 plants for over 16 years. Thej- then 

 come foi-th from the earth, crawl upon 

 some stem or branch split open on the 

 back, and the beautiful cicadse come 

 forth to celebrate their nuptials with 

 song and merry-making. 



Why are they so long in the lai'val 

 state ? Is it not because they dig deep 

 into the earth, and so growth and de- 

 velopment are retarded by the cold ? 

 This would also explain why they do 

 so little harm. They grow so slowly, 

 and are so inactive that they eat but 

 little, and so we mind not the damage, 

 even though they are sucking the root- 



