ABSTRACT
Many insects can cause systemic allergic reactions. Insect stings cause more deaths in the United States than bites from all other venomous animals. In the order Hymenoptera, these include the families Apoidea (bees), Vespoidea (wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets), and Formicoidea (ants). Of the ants, only those in the genus Solenopsis (fire ants) and the genus Pogonomyrmex (har vester ants) are known to cause IgE-mediated allergy in humans. Harvester ants are native to North America and are concentrated primarily in the southwestern US and Mexico (1).
