El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-24

u ECENT study OF insects as disease
* carriers has incidentally opened
I'D to science a new and unex-
plored field of research-namely, that of
insect poisons, which, it appears, play a
far more important part In nature than
was hitherto supposed. Indeed, not I'M
til quite recently was it discovered that
the mosquito is in true sense q
venomous animal, being provided with
poison gland opening through a tube
directly into its stabbing instrument.
The venom itself, however, has never
been analysed, and its composition is
therefore unknown. 1t Is undoubtedly
introduced by the insect into the wound
for the purpose OF making it bleed more
freely, and as now believed) the poison
accomplished this by preventing the
blood from coagulating.
Developing Insect Poison.
Evidently an entirely new branch Of
chemical investigation is Offered by the
insect poisOns,. which are developed in a
surprising variety of ways Thus, for
example, it has been recently ascertained
that the hairs of the caterpillars of the
browntail moth (which is causing so
much trouble in New England) actually
contain a chemic substance powerful
enough to be dangerous under some cir
cumstances. This it is that produces the
socaIled 'fbrown-taiI rash,' resulting
from contact with the insects OF with
their cocoons.
For fear of this trouble, often serious,
people have been advised not to put I'M
derclothes and bedding out on the line
in the caterpillar season, lest the hairs,
which float about in the air, alight upon
them and be thus brought into contact
with the person. That the matter is
one of no trifling Importance may be
Judged from the fact that men engaged
in fighting this pestiferous insect IN
Massachusetts have been made, IN a
number of instances, so III as to be
obliged to give up the employment. One
died of severe internal poisoning, due
burlap girdles placed On trees for pro-
tective purposes. The poison, it seems, |
has the effect of breaking down the red /
eorpuscles of the blood.
Few Dangerous SerpentA
Snakes are supposed to be the typicaHy !
venomous animals. And yet, as a mat
ter of fact, there are very few dangerous I
species of seTpents, the great alority /
being among the most harmless of living !
creatures Among lizards, the ella
monster is known to be provided with
poison glands, its bite being dangerous.
Recently it has been discovered that
certain IC3QllS0eS nave venom SfdnUS
Connected with their back fins, a wound
inflicted by which is extremely painful.
But these are manifest exceptions in
nature. The truly venomous tribes of
animals are insects
Take the bee, for example. It carries
N its abdomen a small but complete 4
working laboratory for the manufacture
Of poison. An important part of the
apparatus is large sac that serves as
venom -container. Connected with this,
and opening into it, are two glands one
Of which secretes an alkaline fluid, and
The other an acid fluid. The two fluids
combine in the aforesaid sacsto make the
venom, which considering the painful
effects produced by the relatively small
quantity with which a bee is aTmed) is
not less powerful than that of
The Tattlesnake.
As for the composition of this venom
discharged through a hollow lance at
he end of the abdomen) nothing what
.Eer is known. except that the acid fluid
seems to be chiefly formic acid. Yet it
S of obvious Importance that this prob
EN- should be worked out, if only for the
'eason that bee poison seems to be, in
ONE cases at all events, a valuable rem
.dY for rheumatism. It Is fact
amiliar to everybody that the vegetable
nelson's. such as strychnine and bella
Ionna, have supplied the art of medicine
With some of its most valuable weaDons
or fighting diseases. Accordingly, it is
lot unreasonable TO imagine that insect
Tenoms. when they come to be under
TODD, may be similarly employed.
Venoms Differ.
Undoubtedly. these venoms differ
widely in their composition-iwhich IS
altogether desirable, inasmuch as their
ange of medicinal usefulness may there
" be much extended. The poison of the
wasp is doubtless very different from
hat of the honey-bee. and the venom of
he spider not at all like that of certain
tinging ants. In each case a complex
nd difficult problem of chemical analy-
is must be solved
All spiders are venomous. The bite of
wo or three species is even dangerous
he most common of these being the So
allied ''black widow" rather bigger than
pea, glistening black. and with red
pot on her under side. Often she is
0und under old logs and rubbish andl
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