Poisonous Dwellers of the Desert

by Natt N. Dodge

Ants, wasps, hornets, bees

Stinging insects all belong to the group Hymenoptera and consist of the families Apidae (honeybee, etc.), Bombidae (bumblebee), Vespidae (wasps and hornets), Sphecidae (thread-waisted wasps), Mutillidae (velvet ants), and Formicidae (the ants).

Wasp

In general, the only treatment recommended for insect stings is to bathe the parts with ordinary liquid household bluing just as soon as possible after the sting has been received, and apply hot compresses. However, certain specific treatments are advised, depending upon the particular species or condition.

Some persons are extremely susceptible to insect bites and stings, and preliminary work has been done in trying to immunize those sensitive individuals, but, in general, with very little success. The problem of immunizing or desensitizing persons who are allergic to insect bites and stings is one of considerable importance, as such unfortunate persons will testify.

Because of the fact that honeybees are of such great economic importance, not only as producers of an important food but also as pollenizers of fruit, vegetable, seed, and other crops, they will be discussed separately from the other stinging insects.

Everyone is familiar with ants, wasps, hornets, and bumblebees, and there are very few persons who have not had unpleasant experiences with one or more of these groups of insects.

Ants and velvet ants

Velvet ants, which are in reality wingless wasps and not true ants, are not as well known as the others, although the little creatures that scurry about like brightly dyed bits of cotton are quite numerous in the desert.

The primary purpose of the sting is to paralyze or kill their prey, although it becomes more important as a weapon of defense with insects which do not prey upon or parasitize other creatures. Although the solitary insects use their poison as a means of personal defense if attacked or imposed upon, the social insects such as ants, social wasps and hornets, honeybees, and others, rally to the defense of their nests and in mass attacks against an intruder may cause painful and sometimes serious injury.

Although the small amount of poison introduced beneath the skin by the sting of one of these creatures usually causes only temporary discomfort, there are sometimes after effects which may be more intense and of longer duration with some persons than with others. In general, stinging insects may be considered more as a nuisance than a menace, although a person attacked by a large number, or subjected to their stings for some length of time, might receive serious and perhaps fatal injuries. Known deaths have been caused by the sting of imported fire ants in southeastern States. The species is believed to be spreading. Treatment by a physician may include the use of ACTH and calmitol.

Although ants and velvet ants are commonly considered as wingless, they are, actually, winged. Male velvet ants have wings whereas the females are normally without wings. The females have a very effective sting, and if picked up or pinched they make every effort to use it, at the same time emitting a peculiar faint squeaking sound.

True ants, of which there are hundreds of species, are social insects living in colonies containing the mother, or queen, which becomes wingless after fertilization; numerous workers, or non-fertile females; and young winged males and females.

Velvet ant

Control of ants

Ants of various species are numerous on the desert, some of them becoming serious household pests, difficult to control.

There are effective ant poisons on the market, but the surest method of control is to find the nest and destroy it. Ants that are household pests usually are either grease eaters or sweet eaters, and the proper poison for the specific type should be obtained in attempting to rid the house of these insects.

Wasps, hornets, yellowjackets, bees

Wasps, hornets, yellowjackets, and bees of many species are common in the desert, some species being solitary in habit while others live in colonies or nests which they defend with great pugnacity.

Bumblebee

Although humans have little to fear from these insects if they leave them strictly alone, some species select nest sites beneath overhanging eaves or in attics or lofts, thus becoming persistent pests. They are usually tolerated until one or more members of the family are stung.

Other species are attracted to human habitations by the presence of sweets or other edibles, and make persistent nuisances of themselves. They are capable of inflicting painful injuries, and are greatly feared by many persons.

Not usually serious, these injuries do not respond to any treatment that has yet been developed. Immediate application of strong ammonium hydroxide (household ammonia) is a home treatment which has been found helpful for ant stings, and, in most cases, for the stings of other insects.

A piece of ice held at the point of puncture will relieve the pain and burning sensation in the majority of cases of insect sting.

In serious cases, of course, the services of a physician should be obtained immediately.

Honeybee
(Apis mellifera)

At first thought it may seem unjustified to include the common honeybee in a discussion of poisonous creatures of the desert. Although the honeybee is not a desert native, having been imported from Europe, it has established itself in the wild state throughout the Southwest in locations providing adequate moisture and sufficient nectar-producing flowers.

Honeybees on the honeycomb

Throughout much of the United States honeybees are encountered in numbers only in apiaries operated by beekeepers, or in bee trees where the insects have established themselves. In the desert climatic conditions are ideal for honeybees, and they have become widespread and well established.

They obtain water at springs, seeps, waterholes, cattle tanks, dripping faucets, and leaking water containers, often congregating in such numbers around sources of water that they become a distinct nuisance to men and to animals. Individual honeybees are frequently found in flowers, or may fly in through an open automobile window, and sting one of the car’s occupants. Small children sometimes receive stings while playing on white clover lawns or going barefoot. Farm boys may be severely stung as a result of molesting beehives or throwing stones at bees’ nests in trees or caves.

Normally, poison introduced by the sting of a honeybee is local in effect and little more than a painful inconvenience to the person stung. There are many cases on record, however, of persons and domestic animals receiving stings from so many of the enraged insects that serious and even fatal results have followed.

During the past half century, medical records show a number of deaths each resulting from a single sting. Jones[7] made an intensive study of this problem and was able to show conclusively that occasional individuals become supersensitive to honeybee venom. If persons in such condition receive even the small amount of poison injected by a single sting, the resulting excessive susceptibility may be fatal unless proper treatment is administered immediately. To such persons the honeybee is definitely a poisonous and dangerous creature.

Poison mechanism of worker bee, greatly enlarged.

1. Poison sack or reservoir. 2. Muscles which force sting into flesh and pump poison from sack. These muscles continue operating for as long as 20 minutes after the sting has been torn from the bee’s body. 3. Sheath within which shafts of sting slide. 4. Barbed tip of sting. These barbs hold the sting in the flesh of the victim so securely as to tear the sting from the body of the bee.

How a bee stings

The poison-injecting mechanism of the worker bee is located within the extremity of the abdomen and consists of a barbed sting at the base of which is attached a sack, or reservoir, containing the poison. Male bees (drones) have no sting, and the queen reserves hers for possible use in battle with a rival queen.

In the act of stinging, the bee forces the tip of the sting through the skin of the victim, where it becomes imbedded, being held by the barbs. In escaping the bee tears away, leaving the sting, poison sack, and attached muscles and viscera. Incidentally, this rupture results in the death of the bee.

Capillarity and the spasmodic movement of the attached muscles force the poison from the sack through the hollow shaft of the sting into the wound.

Treatment of bee sting

To counteract this, the first thing that anyone should do when stung by a honeybee is to SCRAPE out the sting. This may be done with a knife blade or even with the fingernail, although the latter is far from sanitary. NEVER PULL OUT THE STING, because in grasping the protruding poison sack between the thumb and forefinger, the sack is certain to be pinched and the poison squeezed into the wound.

Since, under normal conditions, it takes several seconds for the contents of the sack to work into the puncture, prompt removal of the sting with the attached sack prevents much of the poison from being injected.

Application of strong household ammonia just as soon as the sting is scraped out is helpful in allaying the pain.

If a person receives a great number of stings, a physician should be summoned at once. The victim should be undressed, put in bed, and all of the sting scraped out. All parts of the body that have received stings should be covered with cloths soaked in hot water and wrung out. These applications should be as hot as the victim can endure.

Persons who are supersensitive to bee-sting venom show the following symptoms when stung: the skin over the entire body breaks out in lumpy welts, palms of the hands and soles of the feet itch. This is followed by headache, nausea, and vomiting. Breathing becomes labored and heart action is rapid and weak.

As soon as such symptoms are noted, a physician should be summoned or the victim taken to a hospital. Treatment consists of frequent, small, hypodermic injections of epinephrine in the ratio of one part of epinephrine to 1,000 parts of water. Dr. W. Ray Jones[7], who developed and perfected this treatment, reports that it is immediately effective and recommends that all commercial beekeepers provide themselves with hypodermic kits and a small supply of epinephrine.

Even persons who are apparently immune to bee-sting venom through having received bee stings during the course of many years of work in the apiary, may suddenly develop supersensitivity. The treatment is relatively simple, may be self-administered, and has already proved effective in treating serious cases of excessive susceptibility resulting from supersensitive persons receiving bee stings.

Experimental use of calcium lactate to counteract “sting shock” indicates a high degree of success. Physicians should investigate “Death by Sting Shock,” p 234, Science News Letter, April 9, 1955. Use of antihistamines or a hormone of the cortizone family has had some success.

Puss Caterpillar
(Megalopyge opercularis)

Superficially resembling a tiny, light, golden-yellow kitten, the puss caterpillar is a short, bushy larva of a small gray-brown moth with whitish underwings. When disturbed, the caterpillar rears back on its hind legs and “makes a face.” The species has long been widespread throughout the southern states feeding on the foliage of oak, elm, plum, and sycamore trees. They have been found also in truck gardens and orchards. Recently they have invaded the desert mountains of the Southwest, having been reported by Stahnke as especially numerous in the Globe-Miami area of Arizona, feeding on the foliage of oaks.

Puss caterpillar (Courtesy Dr. Herbert L. Stahnke)

Because of their long, silky hairs, children are tempted to touch them. Under the hairs are small protrusions, each bearing a circlet of very small spines resembling tiny porcupine quills. The venom is injected when these spines pierce the child’s skin and the tips break off, producing a burning, itching, irritated, inflamed area. The welts, ranging in size from a dime to a dollar, are sometimes followed by severe muscle cramps and headache. Not lethal, the toxin may cause enough sleeplessness in a child to reduce his resistance to other infections.

Treatment suggested by Dr. Bernard J. Collopy, Assistant Medical Director of the Miami-Inspiration Hospital of Miami, Arizona, consists of immersing the inflamed area in iced water for thirty minutes. Remove for one minute at ten minute intervals for relief from the cold. The skin may blister and peel at the site much as in the case of a first degree burn, but should heal completely in ten days. Some physicians suggest an opiate for relief of pain in severe cases. Cooling lotions may be applied to relieve the itching.

Arizona coral snake
(Micruroides euryxanthus)

The coral snake, of which there are two species in the United States, belongs to the Elapine group, which is represented in the Old World by the cobras and other poisonous snakes. These two species, the coral snake of the Gulf States, and the smaller Arizona coral snake whose range extends into the desert lands of southern New Mexico and Arizona, are the only representatives of the Elapine group found in this country.

Arizona coral snake (Photo by Marvin H. Frost, Sr.)

The Arizona coral is shy and secretive in its habits, timid rather than pugnacious, and it is so rarely seen that little is known of its habits.

The poison mechanism of the coral snake is somewhat different from that of the pit viper group, to which the copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes belong. The teeth of the coral are short, and to be effective the coral snake must chew rather than strike its victim.

The Arizona coral snake is so small—rarely reaching 2 feet in length—and its mouth is so tiny, that it would be very difficult for it to bite an adult human. It is conceivable that a small child playing with one might be bitten.

Because of its close resemblance to several ringed or banded snakes of the desert and also to the Arizona mountain kingsnake, or “coral” kingsnake, of the ponderosa pine highlands of the Southwest, a brief description of the Arizona coral snake is indicated. One of the beautifully spectacular snakes of the desert, it is marked by bands of dark red, cream, and black, which encircle the body. Superficially the markings of the Arizona mountain kingsnake and other tricolored ringed snakes appear similar. However, the red of the kingsnake and of others is usually brighter, and the black bands narrower than those of the coral.

Definite identification is provided by the relationship of the colors to each other, the arrangement on the Arizona coral snake being red, cream, black, cream, red, cream, black, cream. The bands of the Arizona coral snake entirely circle the body and its snout is black.

Rattlesnakes
(Genus Crotalus, spp.)

Thirty species and subspecies of rattlesnakes occur in the United States, more than half of this number being found in the Southwest. Because they have been killed on sight for years, their numbers have been considerably reduced in densely populated areas. For this reason, together with emphasis placed upon their poisonous characteristics by some writers of western thriller fiction, rattlesnakes are considered by many people to be a serious menace in the thinly populated portions of the arid West[8].

Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox.) (Photo by Earl Jackson)

Where rattlesnakes are found

In the hot desert regions of the Southwest rattlesnakes are usually abroad at night during the summer months, as they have no controlling system for body temperature and cannot endure the heat at ground surface during the hours of sunlight. In spring and autumn they may be encountered in the daytime but during December, January, and February they are in hibernation and are rarely or never seen.

Their food consists principally of lizards and small rodents such as ground squirrels, rats, mice, pocket gophers and young rabbits. They are sometimes found along irrigation canal banks where they go for water, and because they find rodents congregating there for the same reason. Unless surprised, cornered, teased, handled, or injured, a rattlesnake usually will try to remain hidden or will endeavor to crawl away rather than strike. Because they are attracted to places where small rodents abound, they are sometimes encountered around barns and outbuildings. They occasionally enter abandoned structures in search of food or to escape from the heat of the sun.

Protective clothing

Because a rattlesnake may be met at almost any time, except during the winter months, by a person who lives, works, or visits in the desert, he should be ever alert. If hiking or climbing through country where rattlesnakes are known to be abundant, he should wear clothing that will protect him from a possible bite.

Pope[9] states that records kept during 1928 and 1929 show that 98 per cent of snake bites occurred below the knee or on the hand or forearm. When in snake country, the hiker should wear knee-high boots or leggings, and should never place his hand on a rock or ledge above the level of his eyes. In other words, watch your step, and look before you reach! Apparently rattlesnakes may strike at a quick movement and are very sensitive to the body warmth of a nearby warm-blooded creature.

Rattlesnake relatives

Rattlesnakes belong to the group known as the pit vipers, which includes the cottonmouths and the copperheads. The latter do not occur in the desert, so they do not come within the province of this publication. Snakes of the pit viper group are characterized by a noticeable depression, or pit, found almost halfway between the eye and the nostril, but slightly lower, on each side of the head.

Of the several species found in the desert, some, such as the western diamondback rattlesnake have a wide range, while others are restricted to limited areas. Some species attain large size, while others are quite small; some are inclined to be pugnacious, while others are more or less docile. All are dangerous!

It is not within the scope of this publication to enter into a discussion of the many species, so the reader who wishes to pursue that subject further is referred to Klauber’s publication on the rattlesnakes[10].

The Sidewinder

There is one rattlesnake of the desert that should be especially mentioned: the sidewinder, or the little horned rattlesnake. It is called sidewinder because of the peculiar method of locomotion that enables it to progress in the sandy habitat which it frequents. Unable to get sufficient traction in loose sand by moving as other snakes do, it throws a portion of its body ahead as a loop, thus serving to anchor or pull the rest of the body ahead. Thus it progresses sideways in a looping, or winding, motion most interesting to observe.

Sidewinder or “horned” rattlesnake

Although the term sidewinder is often used loosely in referring to other species of rattlesnakes, it actually applies only to this particular species—Crotalus cerastes.

Helpful precautions

In snake country, it is important to take a flashlight along whenever there is occasion to go outside at night in summer to be sure that there are no rattlesnakes lying across your path. If you sleep out of doors. keep your bed off the ground if possible. The widely believed statement that, “a rattlesnake will not crawl across a hair rope” is not true, although such a statement will often precipitate an argument.

Persons much in the field should provide themselves with a suction-type snakebite kit, and should know how to use it. Although you stand 200 chances of being killed by an automobile to one of dying from snakebite, the price of a suction-type kit is cheap insurance against that possibility.

First aid for rattlesnake bite

If, in spite of all precautions, you or some companion should be bitten by a rattlesnake, first-aid should be rendered at once. This is not difficult if you have a snakebite kit, and it is possible even if you do not.

The following steps are quite universally accepted:

1. Apply a tourniquet a short distance above the bite (that is between it and the heart) but do not make it too tight. This prevents the blood and lymph carrying the poison from being spread rapidly through the body. The tourniquet should be loosened for a few seconds every 20 minutes.

2. Make a short cut about one-fourth inch deep and one-fourth inch long near each fang puncture with a sharp, sterile instrument. A knife or razor blade sterilized in the flame of a match will do.

3. Apply suction to the cuts. If no suction cup is available, the mouth will do if it contains no open sores.

4. If antivenin is available, administer it according to instructions, but, if possible, this should be left to a physician. (Recent experiments with antivenin indicate that, in some cases, its reaction may be harmful and that it should be administered only under the care of a physician.)

5. Get the patient to medical help as soon as possible, continuing the first-aid treatment enroute. Keep the patient quiet and do not let him get frightened or excited. Rather than require the patient to walk or otherwise exercise, medical aid should be brought to him.

6. If medical help is not available, and if Epsom salts can be obtained, apply cloths soaked in a strong, hot solution of Epsom salts over the cuts. The sucking, however, should be continued for at least half an hour, preferably for an hour or more. Never give alcoholic stimulants or use permanganate of potash. Snakebite kits give complete instructions; follow them carefully.

Poison mechanism of the rattlesnake Redrawn from Dr. Fox

1. Poison gland. 2. Hollow fang. 3. Poison duct. 4. Constrictor muscle. 5. Eye. 6. Nasal opening. 7. Pouch enclosing fangs (not shown in drawing). 8. Tongue.

Rattlesnake venom contains digestive enzymes which attack and destroy tissue, and because of this and the possibility of bacterial infection introduced by cutting the skin, another method of treatment—cryotherapy (treatment with cold)—advocated by Dr. Herbert L. Stahnke, Poisonous Animals Laboratory, Arizona State University, seems to be gaining more and more support. This technique is designed to prevent and control the chemical action of the venom and of bacteria, as well as minimizing stress. This latter action is extremely important, since recent research work has indicated that the physiological products produced by the body under stress may more than double the toxic effects of the venom. Cut-and-suction, or any similar treatment, tends to greatly increase stress.

The following description of treatment is excerpted from “American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,” Volume 6, Number 2, March, 1957, The Treatment of Snake Bite, by Herbert L. Stahnke, Fredrick M. Allen, Robert V. Horan, and John H. Tenery:

1. Place a ligature (tight tourniquet) at once between the site of the bite and the body, but as near the point of entrance of the venom as possible.

2. Place a piece of ice on the site while preparing a suitable vessel of crushed ice and water.

3. Place the bitten hand or other member in the iced water well above the point of ligation.

4. After the envenomed member has been in the iced water for not less than 5 minutes (N.B. research has shown that the danger generally attributed to a ligature is not present when the member is refrigerated), remove the ligature, but keep the member in the iced water for at least 2 hours.

5. Pack the envenomed member in finely crushed ice. This hypothermia must continue for approximately 24 hours, and the patient must not be permitted to chill, since this increases body stress.

6. Change from hypothermia to cryotherapy. This is accomplished as follows: after the first 24 hours following the bite, the patient should be kept somewhat uncomfortably warm—that is, to the point of perspiration—and encouraged to drink much water. This step is exceedingly important. Unless the patient is kept uncomfortably warm the proteolytic portion of the venom will not leave the site of the bite. Consequently, when hypothermia is stopped, the concentration of this part of the venom is greater and the tissue destruction will be proportionately increased. Hypothermia should be avoided entirely if this step is not meticulously observed.

Western black-headed snake (Tantilla eiseni). (Courtesy San Diego Natural History Museum)

Sonora lyre snake (Trimorphodon lambda). (Photo by Marvin H. Frost, Sr.)

7. The warm-up period after Cryotherapy is important. This must be done gradually. Remove the member from the crushed ice and place it in ice water (without ice). Allow the water to warm to room temperature.

Dr. Walter C. Alvarez in the Santa Fe New Mexican, 8-18-57: “Recently, Dr. Wm. Deichmann, John E. Dees, M. L. Keplinger, John J. Farrell, and W. E. MacDonald Jr. reported that hydrocortizone is a life-saving drug when given to animals that have suffered poisoning from rattlesnake venom. Instead of only the 17% of the untreated animals that survived, 75% of treated animals were saved.”