ABSTRACT
Stings by venomous arthropods can produce direct effects in humans by the toxic action of the venom alone or indirect effects due to allergic reactions. The histopathology of arthropod stings varies with the insect and whether or not the victim has preexisting antibody to an insect venom. Most stinging wasps and some bees are solitary or subsocial insects, and they use their stings primarily for subduing prey. This offensive use of stinging and venom by these species rarely leads to human envenomization, except in a few cases of inadvertent or deliberate handling of the specimens. These venoms generally cause slight and temporary pain to humans. The chapter lists some of the active constituents of the vespid wasp, honey bee, and fire ant venoms. Venoms are highly complex mixtures of pharmacologically and biologically active agents. Scorpion venom is primarily neurotoxic, containing multiple low-molecular-weight basic proteins, mucus, salts, and various organic compounds, such as oligopeptides, nucleotides, and amino acids.
