Allergy, Insects and Arachnids

Abstract

Man has coexisted with insects for millions of years, and more recently the Pharaohs cultivated bees as an industry. We read that six of the ten plagues of Egypt were caused by arthropods of some sort. Assyrian cuneiform depicts insects and the Aztec Indians of Mexico prepared a red dye from them. The insects are characterized by having three body segments, three pairs of legs, usually two pairs of wings and one pair of antennae. Included in this group are the lice, beetles, bugs, caterpillars, fleas, bees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, ants, mosquitoes and flies. The arachnids are characterized by having two body segments, four pairs of legs, no wings or antennae and in this group are the spiders, ticks, scorpions and mites. The Insecta and Arachnida should be referred to collectively as ‘arthropods’.