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Post by Jenny on Feb 9, 2006 21:05:17 GMT
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Post by doctorant on Feb 13, 2006 17:17:53 GMT
It does make me shudder because of the inaccuracies at the site. I hate to be the spoiler, but in the name of scientific accuracy, some examples follow:
The title line is illustrated with Argentine ants, Linepthema humile, a species of the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Only Formicinae have formic acid.
It is true that that some stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponinae) also have formic acid, but this compound is lacking from the majority of bee, ant and all other hymenopteran venoms.
The illustration of the man's arm with all the pustules is the typical reaction to fire ant stings, caused by venom alkaloids and histolytic enzymes, but their venom is quite lacking in formic acid.
Finally, formic acid is not found in all nettles, and even where it is, only as a minor ingredient. The active ingredients include an array of other compounds including the itch-inducing histamine and burning-pain-inducing acetyl choline. It is commonly repeated in the homeopathic literature that formic acid is found in "nettles", a name under which this literature lumps many unrleated plants, some of which may contain formic acid, but most do not.
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Post by Jenny on Feb 13, 2006 17:30:28 GMT
Thank you DrAnt, it is good that we have you here to point these things out. It just shows you, that you cannot always trust what you read on web sites  |
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