Some arthropods of the orders Hymenoptera and Scorpionida
inflict medically significant bites. About 20% of Americans are
believed to be hypersensitive to venoms of hymenopteran insects
(including honeybees, bumblebees, wasps, hornets, and fire
ants), which often sting with little provocation. From 1950
through 1959, of 460 deaths due to venomous animals, 50% were
caused by stings of Hymenoptera, especially the honeybee, and
1.7% by stings of scorpions.1 One person reportedly died in 1964
from the sting of fire ants. This article reports recent
findings about stings of such arthropods and suggests a
rationale for treatment. With rare exceptions, members of this
order are social insects that build nests or hives above or
under the ground, occasionally in tree stumps or hollows of live
trees. Most species, except for the "velvet ants" (mutillid
wasps) and true ants, have two pairs of membranous wings. The
thorax and abdomen are distinctly