Review: Pankiw (2009). Journal of Medical Entomology, 46: 782-788.

Written: September 1, 2009

Posted: 09/08/09

Word count: 669

Question: Can you spray something on you to reduce bee stings?

Answer: DEET, no; but MeA, yes!

The latter half of the 19^th century is considered by most apiculture historians to be the golden age of beekeeping innovation. The quintessential breakthrough was the application of the bee space in L. L. Langstroth’s moveable-frame beehive, which truly revolutionized bee management into what we know it today. During the same period, however, several other notable inventions were introduced. The radial extractor, invented in 1865 by the Italian beekeeper Major Franz Endler von Hruschka, enabled beekeepers to harvest honey using centrifugal force rather than destroying the combs. Wax foundation, and later imbedded with wires, provided honey combs with the structural rigidity to withstand such forces, which was also introduced around this time (by John Mehring and J. F. Hetherington, respectively).

Moreover, in 1870, an American beekeeper named Moses Quinby developed the first bellowed bee smoker, which improved the longevity of a stable fire and enabled beekeepers to waft smoke directly onto the bees. While the use of smoke to pacify the bees dates prior to human history, the delivery devices up until that time were fairly primitive (such as straw bundles, used by the primitive peoples, or bowls of smoldering cow dung (!), used by the ancient Egyptians). Decreasing the defensiveness of a honey bee colony greatly facilitates the practice of beekeeping and minimizes stings, for which we are all grateful.

Modern technological innovators, therefore, have attempted to develop chemical products that can be applied beforehand to prevent or dissuade stinging insects from physically stinging. Indeed, doing so can be important for public health and not just to beekeepers, as there are dozens of fatalities from insect venom every year in the US (the vast majority of which, however, are not from honey bees but rather yellow jackets or other wasps). Unlike the case for biting and blood-feeding insects, where numerous products such as DEET have been shown to be extremely effective at deterring mosquitoes and ticks, there has yet to be a product that shows promise to deter stinging insects. Until now.

A new report by Tanya Paniw of Texas A&M University tested the chemical methyl anthranilate (MeA) for this very purpose. This chemical is nontoxic to bees and people, and it is naturally occurring in grapes (it is even used as a food additive). She tested this product in two ways. First, she used the standard black-leather assay on colonies of Africanized honey bees (which, needless to say, are widespread in Texas and more predisposed to defensive behavior). The assay works by waving a leather target (in this case, foam balls covered in black leather) in front of a colony for a pre-determined period of time and then later counting the number of stings imbedded in the leather (=stinging response). In the present study, the leather was sprayed either with water (control) or MeA (treatment) for comparison at different distances from the entrance of the AHB hives. She found that the MeA treated targets received 80% fewer stings than did the control targets, which is exceedingly effective.

Second, she placed special packets of MeA under wooden overhangs—the very places that paper wasps love to build their nests. She found that, compared to untreated controls, that MeA was 100% effective at deterring wasps from constructing their nests. This suggests that MeA may be an effective deterrent for venomous social insects building their nests in unwanted places.

It is too early, of course, to recommend that beekeepers hose down their suits with methyl anthranilate, as more studies need to be conducted and any potential product carefully tested. However, this is an exciting finding for those who have been seeking a key innovation in the development of an effective prevention of stings.

Reference

Pankiw, T. (2009). Reducing honey bee defensive responses and social wasp colonization with methyl anthranilate. Journal of Medical Entomology, 46: 782-788.