Africanized Honey Bees are more aggressive than domestic honey bees and are more likely to sting in greater numbers.
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Students from Scobee and McCullough middle schools are less likely to be bugged by poisonous insects this summer after they learned about the habitats and best ways to avoid common poisonous insects that live in the San Antonio area.

The students who were visiting the Health Science Center on May 14, were treated to a presentation on poisonous insects and learned what actions to take in case of poisoning.

The presentation, sponsored by the South Texas Poison Center (STPC), also featured information on the poison center’s 24-hour help line, 1-800-222-1222. Deborah S. VanDamme, community education specialist for the STPC, told the students about how there is always someone at the help line to answer questions and how many poisoning incidents can be resolved without going to the emergency room.

Nathan Riggs, extension agent in integrated pest management at Texas A & M University, presented the students with the insects most likely to be encountered in San Antonio.

Riggs said fire ants are the most problematic because they are common in areas where people spend long amounts of time, such as the backyard. He also dispelled a myth that the greatly feared insect, the Africanized Honey Bee, popularly known as the killer bee, was more poisonous than the common honey bee. He noted that the Africanized Honey Bee is not more poisonous, only more aggressive. Riggs told the students that the best way to get away from bees is by running away quickly and getting indoors. He indicated that jumping in water would not work because bees will wait for a person to come up for air, and then attack.

"If you are stung, do not try to remove the stinger with your fingers," Riggs said. "Bee stingers are barbed and can cause infections if not properly removed. Using a finger nail or credit card, scrape the stinger out."

He also said that four in 100 people are allergic to fire ants, wasps, or bees. Other insects common to the San Antonio area are yellow jackets, saddleback caterpillars, buck moth caterpillars, bark scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders. For more information on common Texas insects visit, insects.tamu.edu.


Photo courtesy of The County of Orange Public Facilities and Resource Department.