Poisonous Bugs

I found this:

Man dies after eating poison bugs

The Star, October 5, 2001



Bangkok (Thailand) - A 35-year-old man in north-eastern Thailand died after he ate poisonous insects as a snack. The victim suffered from severe diarrheoa and dehydration after eating friend duang fai or fire bug. According to an Agricultural Ministry study, 40 per cent of all insect types in Thailand are beetles and half of those are poisonous.

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Look up the kissing beetle. They have them in the US.

Where is the plot?

Most people don't eat insects, even accidentally. You'll probably have more info on poisonous plants than insects, especially where they can be found, what dosage can be lethal, effects and symptoms in horses and humans, etc. My favorites: oleander, ricin, belladonna, strychnine, taxus. And here's the kicker: some people collect those plants into well-guarded 'poison gardens' around the world.

-cb

I had a friend of mine who had a bee (yellowjacket) fly into his mouth while he was riding his motorcycle. it stung him in the back of his throat. His throat began to swell. We were close to a hospital and pulled into the emergency entrance. by the time he got inside, he could barely breath.
They gave him a shot of benedryl and something else to make the swelling go down. he was okay within seconds and back to normal within minutes. Hate to think of what would have happened if we weren't close to the hospital.

I remember hearing a few years ago about a kid that got really sick from eating a slug as a dare. Wasn't so much the slug that was poisonous as the traces of chemicals that were in it.

Insects are part of the normal diet of most primates - I wouldn't expect eating a random bug or two to hurt anybody beyond the yuck factor.

Eating a random bug or two is not going to harm you. The estimates are that the average person in the USA swallows about 5 spiders a year.

However, there are numerous toxic insects around. Do a Google search for toxic caterpillars and you'll find there are at least 4 species in the USA that can produce severe reactions. The Puss Moth caterpilar is one of these and produces a cytotoxin in its urticulating spines which can induce severe, often unexpected and unrecognized, reactions.

Most insects and spiders that have venom possess cytotoxic venom although there are a few that have neurotoxic venom and one or two that have some exotic mixes.

There are venomous insects all over the world. Do your research, you'll find something that fits the bill.