Stinging Insects You Wouldn't Expect

The following article appeared in the Fairfield Glade Sun newspaper on September 30, 2009.

Enjoying Nature

Don Hazel

Not Just Bees and Wasps Can Sting

My neighbor Lynne got stung the other day, but not by any bee or wasp. It was by the cutest little caterpillar that you ever saw. She said the sting felt like a bee sting, and I will take her word for it because I don’t plan to let the little bugger get me. She was stung by a saddleback caterpillar.

I had read about stinging caterpillars but had never seen one until this encounter. Stinging caterpillars don’t have a stinger like a bee or wasp, but rather, they have numerous spines connected to poison glands covering their body. The little guy was cute: bright green in the middle with a perfect little brown “saddle” on the top that gives them their name…saddleback caterpillar. The caterpillar normally feeds on the underside of a leaf which makes them often unseen until they are felt.

There are several kinds of stinging caterpillars and the treatment is a little different than a bee sting. First take some cellophane tape or duct tape and carefully cover the area where you were stung and then remove the tape to pull out any tiny venomous spines that might remain. Ice and possibly an antihistamine will usually have you feeling better in a short time. However, just like bee stings, some people can have a severe anaphylactic reaction.

There is another insect that recently moved into my neighborhood that also will sting. You have heard of them and they are now beginning to show up in greater numbers around here…fire ants. Fire ants were a way of life in Texas where I used to live. Until recently, I had only ever seen a few mounds around here, down near Dayton. But lately I have seen many mounds around Fairfield Glade.

In dry weather, fire ants live deeper in the ground and you may not know they are around. But when the ground gets saturated, they move their coffee colored mounds up out of the water and that’s when you can spot them; sometimes a couple of feet across and a foot tall. Kick open the top and thousands of angry fire ants swarm out to meet the intruder.

Several years ago I was at a golf tournament in Texas when the woman next to me started screaming and dancing the Macarena. Apparently she had stood on the top of a fire ant mound to get a better view which didn’t please the occupants of the mound.

Fire ants sting, just like their wasp cousins, but they are a little sneaky about it. It always seems that fire ants wait until several are in position and then through pheromone (chemical) communication (I am guessing), they give the signal and all seem to sting at once. Their sting causes a small pustule to form and you will itch for a week.

Since fire ants are imports from South America that cause problems for native species, I have no problem killing them. If you have fire ants, buy a product called Amdro…I call it magic ant candy. They eat it, like it, feed it to everyone in the colony, and everyone dies. What a deal!

As you know, this is the time of year when hornets, wasps and yellow jackets are at their most numerous and the time when we are most likely to get stung. But also watch out for the unexpected stinging caterpillars and fire ants. They aren’t looking for trouble, but they will be all too happy to let you know you got too close for comfort…theirs and yours.

Comments, questions or suggestions for future nature articles are welcome at don.hazel@gmail.com