Omnimaga

General Discussion => Other Discussions => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Hot_Dog on August 05, 2011, 03:52:42 pm

Title: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: Hot_Dog on August 05, 2011, 03:52:42 pm
I read that wasps can sting over and over again, but I couldn't find anything on how many stings they actually have stored in their body.  I refuse to believe they can sting indefinitely without running out of stings (until the next day of course)...is it true that a wasp can run out of stings?
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: yunhua98 on August 05, 2011, 04:00:55 pm
I knew they could sting over and over again, but I always thought it was because their stings just don't come out of their bodies...
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: chattahippie on August 05, 2011, 04:02:41 pm
Yes, the stingers are non-barbed, allowing for multiple stings.  Keep in mind though that they need venom for it to hurt though
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: Hot_Dog on August 05, 2011, 04:07:39 pm
Keep in mind though that they need venom for it to hurt though

Actually you do feel a little prick before the poison settles in, so even if there's no venom, a sting can be annoying if not painful.
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: chattahippie on August 05, 2011, 04:12:48 pm
Keep in mind though that they need venom for it to hurt though

Actually you do feel a little prick before the poison settles in, so even if there's no venom, a sting can be annoying if not painful.

True, but it doesn't pain you for days :P
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: fb39ca4 on August 05, 2011, 07:50:17 pm
I got five of them at once - I was at a summer camp and I took a shortcut between trails, and I must've stepped on a whole nest of them. And to add insult to injury, another wasp stung me a couple days later.
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: Juju on August 06, 2011, 12:24:38 am
Well, for the bees, they only sting once then they die.
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: chattahippie on August 06, 2011, 01:10:22 am
Well, for the bees, they only sting once then they die.

Hehe, gotta love barbed stingers.
The only problem is you have to pull them out later
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: Hot_Dog on August 06, 2011, 01:39:50 am
Well, for the bees, they only sting once then they die.

Hehe, gotta love barbed stingers.
The only problem is you have to pull them out later

Pulling them really isn't the best idea because you can shoot more poison into your body.  I've heard that lightly scratching them out works, and I thought I knew of a remedy that forced them out (but I've been wrong before)

I take it that no one knows how many stings are stored inside of a wasp's body :)
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: AngelFish on August 06, 2011, 01:42:35 am
I imagine it depends on the species. A wasp can probably sting until it gets tired as a snake can bite until it's tired, but the amount of venom it can inject would depend heavily on the precise species.
Title: Re: Number of Wasp Stings
Post by: Hot_Dog on August 06, 2011, 01:47:45 am
I imagine it depends on the species. A wasp can probably sting until it gets tired as a snake can bite until it's tired, but the amount of venom it can inject would depend heavily on the precise species.

Oh, of course, the sting stays put.  I always thought the sting came out and was replaced by another sting.