第 0979 號，共 1 402 號

Paulista wasp

Polybia paulista

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

螫吃：每樣都來一點

The Paulista wasp is a social wasp that lives in colonies of thousands of wasps. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Scientists are studying its venom because some of its peptides (small protein-like molecules) may one day help treat cancer and epilepsy.1

分布在

Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina; especially common in São Paulo, Brazil1

南美洲

首頁

It lives in tropical areas and builds its nests where they are protected from weathering. Up to three colonies can share the same location, and swarms appear from time to time.1

長度

1,1 cm (0,4 in)3

一般成體大小

最高速度

大約 22 km/h（14 mph）

飛行, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Workers forage for water, plant fibre or pulp, animal protein and carbohydrates. Animal protein is used to feed the larvae, and adults feed mainly on cactus fruits when these are plentiful.1

Paulista wasp 的照片 — Paulista wasp。照片：Douglas。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Lives in a colony with a division of labour between young, middle-aged and older wasps1
Builds a nest with combs and envelopes, which are fixed to a surface1
Forms a tight cluster of wasps on the outside of a new nest while the inside has little room1
Found in tropical areas of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

The venom contains several peptides. These cause pain, swelling (oedema) and haemolysis, which means they break down red blood cells. They also trigger an inflammatory response, which causes physical discomfort.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Wasps use venom to defend themselves and their colony against predators, and workers defend the nest.1

如果牠螫人

把蜜蜂的螫針刮掉，然後冷敷患處。
如果傷者呼吸困難、臉部或喉嚨腫脹，或覺得快要昏倒，這就是過敏急症：打緊急電話，如果傷者有腎上腺素自動注射筆，就使用它。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠螫了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

小到可以坐在你的指甲上可以在 17 秒內飛過一整座足球場

Paulista wasp 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻家蠅 大約 7 km/h (4,4 mph)

Paulista wasp 大約 22 km/h (14 mph)

一個正在衝刺的人 大約 37 km/h (23 mph)

值得知道

小知識

A peptide in the venom, called Polybia-MP1, kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact, according to research so far. Further studies are needed to confirm it is safe as a chemotherapy drug.1

The venom contains mastoparan, which has been shown to inhibit the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas disease.1

Workers cool the nest by fanning their wings and spreading water on the combs, so the water evaporates and lowers the temperature.1

Colonies can contain from 10 to 94 queens, because young queens are constantly recruited.1

A colony can hold about 4,500 wasps during its early stage, and up to 13,000 wasps while males are being produced.1

給毒液專家

學名: Polybia paulista
類群: 蜜蜂、胡蜂和虎頭蜂
家人: Vespidae2
排序: Hymenoptera
各大洲: 南美洲
寶寶: Queens lay eggs that develop into workers throughout the year, and they store sperm to fertilise the eggs.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3