Lethality of Africanized honey bee venom

The object of the present study was to determine she influence of sex, age and pregnancy in the sensitivity of Wistar rats to Africanized bee (Apis mellifera) venom. The electric ''milking'' procedure was used for the collection of venom. An LD(50) of 3.22 mg/kg was estimated for rats with a mean weight of 100 g, and of 1.48 mg/kg for post-nursing females weighing an average 297 g. Virgin animals with a mean weight of 240 g presented intermediate sensitivity The results also indicate that there is no linear relation between animal weight and-tolerance to honey bee venom, and information on LD(50) obtained with younger animals may not reflect the general responses of individuals of a particular species.