University of Arizona entomologist Justin Schmidt developed a scale to rank the most painful bites and stings in the world. How did he do this, you ask? Well this madman subjected himself to 150 creatures bites in order to figure out which was the worst, which he accompanied with a blurb and a ranking from 1 to HOLY S#IT THAT’S HORRIBLE (or 4). His pain is most definitely our gain.
1.0 Sweat bee
“Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.”
1.2 Fire ant
“Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.”
1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant
“A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.”
2.0 Bald-faced hornet
“Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.”
2.0 Yellowjacket
“Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine WC Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.”
2.0 Honey bee
“The sensation is like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.”
3.0 Red harvester ant
“Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.”
3.0 Paper wasp
“Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of Hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.”
4.0 Tarantula Hawk
“Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath (if you get stung by one you might as well lie down and scream).”
4.0+ Bullet ant
“Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel.”
