The Entomologist's Perfect Crime Chapter 13

I opened my computer and searched for Italian bees.

"Students, remember the Type I hypersensitivity reaction I mentioned earlier?"

A student called out:

"Yes! The mechanism is divided into sensitization and activation stages. The interval between the two stages usually doesn't exceed twenty days. The first sting causes the bee venom to act as an antigen, sensitizing the person. When exposed to the same antigen again, a hypersensitivity reaction occurs. The reaction develops rapidly, sometimes in just a few minutes."

I nodded:

"Right, looks like you were listening carefully and have a good memory."

The student held up his notebook:

"Can't remember everything in my head—wrote it all down."

I praised:

"That's good too. Better to write things down than rely on memory alone."

Then I enlarged the image I'd searched for and projected it on the big screen.

"This bee is called the Italian bee, native to the Apennine Peninsula. Very gentle in temperament and excellent at producing royal jelly. It's the main species for artificial beekeeping."

I pointed at the image:

"Come on, students, let me teach you how to identify Italian bees."

"Italian bees have a long proboscis and elongated abdomen. The chitin of their abdominal plates has distinct coloring, with yellow bands on the front of the second through fourth abdominal segments."

I pointed while describing.

"But every species has natural enemies. The Italian bee's natural enemy is the death's-head hawkmoth."

"Does anyone remember what I put outside the beehive in the story?"

The students answered in unison:

"Death's-head hawkmoths!"

I displayed an image of the death's-head hawkmoth and smiled:

"Right, this is the death's-head hawkmoth. As the name suggests, it's... quite ugly. The death's-head hawkmoth loves sweet things and especially loves eating honey. It loves to eat but won't make its own—just steals from others. That's why it's the nightmare of Italian bees and beekeepers."

"Once bees come into contact with death's-head hawkmoths, they immediately become agitated. That's why I put the hawkmoths outside the beehive."

"When my son went in and opened the beehive, the hawkmoths would enter to eat the honey. When the bees sensed the hawkmoths' presence, they'd become agitated. Once agitated, they'd sting."

A student asked:

"Professor, you said not everyone will have a Type I hypersensitivity reaction. How did you know your son had this allergic constitution?"

I asked: "Remember I mentioned my son was stung by a bee?"

"Oh, I understand. The hospital found out."

"Yes, the doctor specifically warned me, and I told my son too, but obviously he didn't take my words seriously."