Four insects you do not want to disturb
One moment, I was clearing brush and rank vegetation with a gas-powered grass/brush trimmer, the next a sudden burning pain like someone jabbing a white-hot poker into my index finger was immediately followed by a dozen more such jolts on face, head, legs, and back.
Confusion lasted maybe a second or two, shifting in a heartbeat to recognition and terror when I saw a blur of black and yellow boiling from a hole in the ground at the base of the big oak and swarming around me. Then I was running from the woods, slapping — clawing, really — at the winged tormentors burying their stingers into me and pumping venom that burned like acid.
The swarm followed me for at least 50 yards, continuing to punish my transgression until I’d nearly reached the back porch where I stumbled inside.
The good news was that the yellow and black demons were not the Africanized honey bees my mind immediately imagined in the first shocking moments of the episode this past Sunday. That became clear when I removed my shirt so my long-suffering wife could remove any residual stingers from my back and a pair of belligerent yellow jackets flew out of the clothing.
Such painful and potentially deadly encounters with stinging insects are part and parcel of spending time outdoors in rural areas of Texas, especially this time of year.
Across the state, hunters are beginning their annual preseason trips to leases where they mount tractors to mow shooting lanes through woods, pastures or along senderos, clean and refurbish box blinds, set and fill feeders or build feeder pens, use gas-engine grass/brush trimmers to whack the grasses and brush around cabins and trailers and do the other chores their recreation requires.
Paddlers and anglers are plying the state’s rivers and streams, spending much of their time tight against the banks where they use the shade of shoreline trees to hide from the brutal Texas summer sun.
With the enjoyment of these activities also comes the chance of an unexpected encounter with one of the state’s three most common venomous winged insects, all of which can and invariably do account for scores of episodes that prove, at best, painfully unpleasant or, at worst, life-threatening. Know what to do
Knowing how to best avoid or at least minimize these encounters and what to do when they almost inevitably occur are important skills to cultivate. It certainly will reduce the pain. And it could save a life. While most encounters with stinging winged insects are painful but brief, if the person targeted is one of the approximately 30 percent of the population that has allergic reaction to the venom the encounter could trigger anaphylactic shock that can prove fatal if not quickly treated.
Texas is home to well over a dozen species of winged stinging insects. But only four — yellow jackets, baldfaced hornets, paper wasps and Africanized honey bees — pose a significant threat, a function of their being colony-based creatures that, when incited, attack en masse and can inflict multiple stings.
Of the three, baldfaced hornets are the easiest to avoid. The hornets — the only hornet found in Texas — build “paper” nests about the size of a football and shaped like an inverted pear. The nests, most often attached to tree limbs, usually are easily seen and avoided.
Southern yellow jackets are much less obvious. Most Texans understandably but incorrectly call yellow jackets “ground hornets,” a nod to the insects’ propensity to build their nests underground. Those subterranean nests, which can contain as many as 4,000 insects, are accessed via an entrance hole usually about the size of a silver dollar or slightly larger.
Yellow jackets, like hornets and wasps, are not unilaterally aggressive insects. But they are short-tempered creatures that mount mass attacks on anything they deem a threat to their colony. That includes a Brush Hog mower pulled over a nest entrance by a deer hunter cutting a shooting lane, the hum of a grasspowered grass trimmer or even the opening of the door of a deer blind where the wasp-like yellow jackets have taken up residence.
The result is a massive defensive attack that can inflict dozens of stings within seconds.
Paper wasps — “red” wasps to most Texans — are also a threat, although not to the degree of yellow jackets. Paper wasp nests, usually about the size of a fist but sometimes larger, typically harbor a couple of dozen adults, so mass attacks are not an issue. But an angler who bumps into a paper wasp nest attached to a tree limb overhanging a stream (a favorite place for these wasps to nest) or the hunter who opens the door to a blind holding a nest or tree will feel the wrath of aggrieved wasps — often repeatedly, as a wasp can deliver multiple injections of venom.
Then there are Africanized honey bees, without doubt the most dangerous of the lot. These mutant honey bees are, by far, the most aggressive and persistent of the stinging winged insects and account for the most severe injuries and deaths. ‘It was a nightmare’
James Prince knows this all too well. His encounter with the Africanized honey bees illustrates what can happen when fate brings someone into their sights.
“It was a nightmare,” Prince said of the 2015 encounter.
Mowing a brush line near the Port O’Connor hunting/fishing lodge where he works, Prince came too close to an unseen hive the bees had built in an abandoned airconditioner unit.
He felt the first sting on the back of his head, and wondered what had hit him.
“Then, everything went black,” he said. He was swarmed by thousands of bees, stinging him on all exposed skin. He jumped from the mower and tried to run, but stumbled and fell. He couldn’t see because so many bees were swarming and stinging his face.
“When I tried to yell for help, they just poured into my mouth,” Prince said, adding bees even crawled up his nostrils.
“I was sure I was going to die. I was praying the whole time,” he said.
Moving toward the voice of a coworker urging him toward a nearby building and potential safety, Prince pulled his shirt over his head to protect his face.
“That was a mistake,” he said. The bees covered his exposed back.
The bees continued to pursue him until he reached the building and relative safety. His friend had called 911.
EMS workers began to try removing the scores of stingers and venom sacks the bees had left in Prince. They removed 50 from one hand, more than 100 from one arm and then quit counting when they saw his back.
In total, he had been stung more than 500 times.
The massive dose of venom from that many stings soon sent Prince into shock. He was rushed to a hospital, transferred to another hospital where blood tests showed the same enzymes present in victims of a heart attacks.
Prince survived, spending two days in the hospital and several days recovering at home.
“It’s a miracle I didn’t die,” he said. “If I’d been by myself, I would have died.”
Always cautious about threats posed by wasps and bees, Prince’s experience made him even more so. And he offers hard-won and solid advice to folks spending time outdoors in places where they might encounter bees, wasps or yellow jackets.
“If you’re mowing, wear protective clothes — long sleeves, long pants, gloves and face protection,” he said. Yes, it’ll be hot. But better to sweat than to suffer stings.
“Have an escape route — an exit strategy,” he said. “Know how to get out of a spot, fast.”
Try not to be alone in isolated spots on property when working.
“If you’re at your lease, tell someone where you’re going or, better yet, have someone else with you.” Stay aware and prepare
Remember, many hunting leases and other isolated areas have poor or nonexistent cellphone coverage. Plan for that.
“It can happen just about any place. (Wasps, yellow jackets, bees) can be in deer blinds, old buildings, under your trailer. You just have to be aware and prepared,” he said.
For most folks stung by wasps, yellow jackets or even bees, the pain and swelling can be moderated by taking antihistamines such as Benadryl and over-the-counter pain relievers. The effects — swelling, itching and pain — subside within a day.
But for those who have allergic reactions to insect venom, things aren’t so easy. If stings result in hives, dizziness, weak or rapid pulse or, especially, breathing problems, things are deadly serious; these are signs of anaphylactic shock. Get medical help as soon as possible.
Persons who know or suspect they have strong allergic reactions to wasp, bee or yellow jacket stings should get a prescription from their doctor for injectable epinephrine, a form of adrenaline that could counteract the life-threatening effects of insect venom. The most common such injectable epinephrine goes by the brand name EpiPen. Generic forms are also available. They are expensive — the “cheap” generic versions running about $300 for a pair of injectable doses. But they can, quite literally, save a life.
Federal data collected for several years in the early 2000s indicated bee and wasp stings annually accounted for more than 200,000 emergency room visits. Bites from venomous snakes annually accounted for fewer than 3,000 emergency room visits. Deaths from insect (bee, wasp) stings averaged about 70 per year, nationwide. Annually, about five people die from snake bite in the U.S.
Spend enough time in Texas outdoors, and you’re going to get crossways with wasps, hornets, yellow jackets or, God forbid, Africanized honey bees.
Best to be prepared.