Bee Updated: Current Knowledge on Bee Venom and Bee Envenoming Therapy

Honey bees can be found all around the world and fulfill key pollination roles within their natural ecosystems, as well as in agriculture. Most species are typically docile, and most interactions between humans and bees are unproblematic, despite their ability to inject a complex venom into their victims as a defensive mechanism. Nevertheless, incidences of bee stings have been on the rise since the accidental release of Africanized bees to Brazil in 1956 and their subsequent spread across the Americas. These bee hybrids are more aggressive and are prone to attack, presenting a significant healthcare burden to the countries they have colonized. To date, treatment of such stings typically focuses on controlling potential allergic reactions, as no specific antivenoms against bee venom currently exist. Researchers have investigated the possibility of developing bee antivenoms, but this has been complicated by the very low immunogenicity of the key bee toxins, which fail to induce a strong antibody response in the immunized animals. However, with current cutting-edge technologies, such as phage display, alongside the rise of monoclonal antibody therapeutics, the development of a recombinant bee antivenom is achievable, and promising results towards this goal have been reported in recent years. Here, current knowledge on the venom biology of Africanized bees and current treatment options against bee envenoming are reviewed. Additionally, recent developments within next-generation bee antivenoms are presented and discussed.

Historical perspective and human consequences of Africanized bee stings in the Americas

In 1956, Africanized bees began to spread in the American continent from southern Brazil, where original African bees mated with European bees. A few years later, in 1990, these Africanized bees reached the United States and were found in Texas. Currently, these hybrid bees are found in several North American states and will probably reach the Canadian border in the future. Although the presence of Africanized bees had produced positive effects on Brazilian economy, including improvement in crop pollination and in honey production, turning Brazil into a major exporter, the negative impacts-such as swarming, aggressive behavior, and the ability to mass attack-resulted in serious and fatal envenomation with humans and animals. Victims of bee attacks usually develop a severe envenomation syndrome characterized by the release of a large amount of cytokines [interleukins (IL) IL-1, IL-6, IL-8], and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Subsequently, such cytokines produce an acute inflammatory response that triggers adverse effects on skeletal muscles; bone marrow; hepatic and renal functions; and cardiovascular, central nervous, and immune systems. Finally, the aim of the present review is to study historical characteristics and current status of Africanized bees' spread, the composition of their venom, the impact of the bees on the Brazilian economy and ecology, and clinical aspects of their stings including immune response, and to suggest a protocol for bee sting management since there is no safe and effective antivenom available.

Early ant plagues in the New World

The identity and origin of the West Indian plague ants of the early sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries have long been a mystery. By reviewing historic accounts with an analysis of the present-day Caribbean ant fauna, I have narrowed the list of suspects to two species and their insect symbionts.

[An invasion of insect Simulium columbaczese (Diptera, Simuliidae) described in an old Romanian chronicle]

The oldest description of an invasion of Simulidae on the present territory of Romania, containing unique data for the history of parasitology in the Danube valley, has been discovered by the author in an anonymous chronicle "Istoria Tării Româneşti de la Octombrie 1688 până la Martie 1717 (History of Wallachia from October 1688 to March 1717), written at the Court of the Prince of Wallachia, Constantin Brâncoveanu. In the last decade of the XVIIth ctry, the Prince, at the head of his army, had to march in order to defend the Wallachian Danube border in the area of its gorges. The chronicle describes the delay caused on the way by an invasion of "poisonous" flies, attacking both animals and people. This description is detailed enough to establish that it is regarding an invasion of Simulium columbaczense, insect present in the area even nowadays. The development of these insects is favourised by numerous rivulets coming down mountain slopes of the Danube.