Allergy Paper Wasp Venom

Paper wasps are wasps of the family Vespidae, in the strict sense those belonging to the subfamily Polistinae, but the term is used colloquially to include some members of the subfamilies Vespinae and Stenogastrinae which also make nests out of paper. The wasps gather fibres from old wood and dry dead plant stems, chew them, and mix with saliva to make a water-resistant gray or brown paper. The nests of most true paper wasps are characterised by having open cells and a petiole attaching the nest to the substrate, or place where it is attached. The wasps produce a chemical which repels ants, and they secrete it around the base of this petiole in order to avoid letting their brood become ant food. Despite the use of the proper name, most social wasps make nests from paper, although some tropical wasp species, such as Liostenogaster flavolineata, use mud, a far easier resource for the wasp to collect. The most severe allergic reactions to wasp stings are referred to as anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis occurs when your body goes into shock in response to the wasp venom. Most people who go into shock after a wasp sting do so very quickly. It