Most people around the world have probably encountered the painful sting of a honey bee in their lives, and they would mot likely want to steer clear of the experience as much as possible. But entomologist Justin Schmidt and his zoologist wife Debbie are not ‘most people’ The two scientists have been collecting different species of insects from around the globe to study their venom and the pain caused by their stings. After collecting buckets of the creatures, the plan was to analyse them and compare the venoms from different specimens. To assess venom, Schmidt needed to evaluate both toxicity and pain. Toxicity was straightforward — already existing measures could be used. But there was no existing scale to measure the pain of insect stings.
Thus was born the “Schmidt Pain Scale for Stinging Insects.” It was a four-point system, anchored by the well-known sting of a honey bee (rating a two), something people all over the world could be familiar with. To go up or down a full point, a sting had to be discernibly more or less painful than the stings on another level. Half points could be used for pricks that fell somewhere between levels. Over the years, Schmidt added new species to the list. He mostly didn’t try to get stung. It just happened, more than 1,000 times, from at least 83 different species that have been evaluated on the index. Here is a lit of the most painful insect stings, evaluated on the 4-point system:
Red fire ant
Description: “Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet and reaching for the light switch.”
Pain level: 1
Western cicada killer
Description: “Pain at first sight. Like poison oak, the more your rub, the worse it gets.”
Pain level: 1.5
Western honey bee
Description: “Burning, corrosive, but you can handle it. A flaming match head lands on your arm and is quenched first with lye and then sulfuric acid.”
Pain level: 2
Western yellowjacket
Description: “Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W.C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.”
Pain level: 2
Fierce black polybia wasp
Description: “A ritual gone wrong, satanic. The gas lamp in the old church explodes in your face when you light it.”
Pain level: 2.5
Velvet ant (technically a wasp)
Description: “Explosive and long lasting, you sound insane as you scream. Hot oil from the deep frying spilling over your entire hand.”
Pain level: 3
Florida harvester ant
Range: North America
Description: “Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a power drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.”
Pain level: 3
Tarantula hawk
Description: “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer has just been dropped into your bubble bath.”
Pain level: 4
Bullet ant
Description: “Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over a flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail embedded in your heel.”
Pain level: 4
Warrior (or armadillo) wasp
Description: “Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?”
Pain level: 4
