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There is an old wives tale that bee stings are
acidic and that they can be neutralised by adding an alkali. Well it is
just not true.
Long before people knew what acids were, people
used the word "acidic" to describe the substance in bee stings.
They thought that the nasty effect of the sting was caused by something
like vinegar.
Actually, honey bees have an "alkali
gland" associated with their stings, but it is not the alkali from
this gland which causes the nasty effect. It is a complex mixture of
enzymes from the "venom sac" that does the damage. If your
chemistry teacher has told you that you can treat a bee sting with an
alkali, don't believe it. |
