Ants Don't Bite, Bees Don't Sting

When I was five years old I watched my older sister come running in the house crying and screaming because her leg was covered with ants after she had stepped in an ant mound. Ever since then I have been very cautious of avoiding ants in hopes of not getting bitten. I've always advised my young nieces and nephews to stay away from any kind of ant--and most other insects as well. Recently my sister informed me that her mother-in-law has been telling my nieces that there is no need to fear ants because they don't bite. I heard the red buzzer going of in my head. Ants do bite. Most scientists say that not all ants bite, or even have the ability to bite. There are over 12,000 species of ants worldwide, according to Harvard's Boston Harbor Island. I don't know about them, but when I feel a pinch on my arm and realize that an ant has just bitten me, I don't check to see which specific ant species it was that just took a chunk out of my arm. I just squash it.
It seems like everyone is a scientist nowadays. It's not just with ants, but with many other things. People love to disprove commonly held beliefs. It satisfies their need to show off their "smarts", make others seem stupid, and make themselves seem more important, all at the same time.
When there is a bee buzzing around my head, and I'm screaming like Janet Leigh in the movie "Psycho", nothing ticks me off more than when my sister-- the same one who stepped in the ant mound-- tells me that if I remain perfectly still, then the bee won't sting me. But I know from experience that this just isn't true.

The San Diego Zoo's web site states that "if a bee lands on you, stand still and let it fly away on its own." It will fly away on its own--after it stings you. The zoo's web site also advises people not to run if they see a swarm of bees, but to slowly walk away. But what if you're already completely swarmed by them? Are scientists and wannabe scientists so committed to the belief that being perfectly still will help you avoid being stung by a bee, that if swarmed by them they would practice what they preach?If so, I'll salute them as they are lying perfectly still in their hospital bed.

And what about the common cold? Ever since I could remember, I've always been told to wear a coat, or not to go out in the rain, because I would catch a cold. Now there are dozens of web sites reiterrating that there is no way you can catch a cold from cold or damp weather. Even my Psychology teacher told our class about a British experiment done in 1946, where researchers studied three test groups to see which would be more susceptible to the common cold. One group stood in the cold in their wet bathing suits, the second group did the same thing, but was also given doses of a cold virus, and the third was given the virus, but stayed warm and dry. None of the participants from group one caught a cold, and more participants from group three caught a cold than from group two.

The only thing this experiment proved to me was that British people were weird back then. Who were the participants who agreed to be subject to such experimentation? Maybe they should have all been given high doses of psychiatric medication.

I know my stubborness ticks my sister off, but this isn't her blog. So no matter what anyone tells me, I won't stop believing that all ants bite, bees are always seeking to sting anyone nearby, cold weather causes colds and Brian Mcknight was singing to me in his song "Back at One"--wait wrong post.

Photo from Flickr by Pandiyan V

For information on how to treat ant bites visit http://www.fireant.net/Bites/

For information on how to treat bee stings visit http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=62369

For information on how to treat the common cold visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000678.htm