What’s the Most Painful Sting?
What’s the Most Painful Sting? An Interview with ‘the King of Sting’
By Douglas Main
The bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) has the most painful sting in the insect world. Juan Carlos Ulate/REUTERS
I met entomologist Justin Schmidt by chance in an Arizona ghost town. I was there to write a story about how the monsoon brings out tons of bizarre-looking creatures and the naturalists who chase them. Schmidt, one of those colorful bug-lovers, was relaxing with his family and, of course, running after insects. Cow-killers, to be exact. These red, fuzzy-looking wasps are renowned for their painful stings.
But exactly how painful? And how does this compare with something more common, like a honeybee?
Well, thanks to Schmidt, now we know. The entomologist created the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, which ranks how much the stings of various insects hurt, on a scale of zero to 4, and gives a colorful description of the resulting sensation. Read more.
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