in case they are stung. If someone experiences anaphylactic shock, adrenaline and intravenous infusions are required, and those who suffer cardiac arrest require resuscitation. Desensitisation (also called allergy immunotherapy) is offered to those who are susceptible to M. pilosula stings, and the program has shown effectiveness in preventing anaphylaxis. However, the standardisation of M. pilosula venom is not validated, and the program is poorly funded. The Royal Hobart Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital are the only known hospitals to run desensitisation programs. During immunotherapy, patients are given an injection of venom under the skin. The first dose is small, but dosage gradually increases. This sort of immunotherapy is designed to change how the immune system reacts to increased doses of venom entering the body. Before venom immunotherapy, whole-body extract immunotherapy was widely used due to its apparent effectiveness, and it was the only immunotherapy used for ant stings. However, fatal failures were reported, and this led to scientists to research for alternative methods of desensitisation. Before 1986 allergic reactions were not recorded and there was no study on Myrmecia sting venom; whole body extracts were later used on patients during the 1990s, but this was found to be ineffective and was subsequently withdrawn. In 2003, ant venom immunotherapy was shown to be safe and effective against Myrmecia venom. Prevention Myrmecia ants are frequently encountered by humans, and avoiding them is difficult. Wearing closed footwear such as boots and shoes can reduce the risk of getting stung; these ants are capable of stinging through fabric, however. A risk of being stung while gardening also exists; most stings occur when someone is gardening and is unaware of the ants' presence. Eliminating nearby nests or moving to areas with low Myrmecia populations significantly decreases the chances of getting stung. Due to their large mandibles, Myrmecia ants have been used as surgical sutures to close wounds. The ant is featured on a postage stamp and on an uncirculated coin which are part of the Things That Sting issue by Australia Post, and M. gulosa is the emblem for the Australian Entomological Society. Myrmecia famously appears in the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's major work, The World as Will and Representation, as a paradigmatic example of strife and constant destruction endemic to the "will to live". Notable Australian poet Diane Fahey wrote a poem about Myrmecia, which is based on Schopenhauer's description, and a music piece