A sting could be so cruel that you couldn’t even imagine in your life. It is one of nature’s cruelest weapons. While an insect sting, they squirt toxins that directly enter your bloodstream. Sting is a chemical weapon that you may not want to experience. Have you thought which animal could be the king of the stinger and must be avoided at all costs?
While many might cross your mind, but not sure which one, however, there is one person who was so curious that he let stingers to sting him in the name of science. It became famous when entomologist Justin Schmidt allowed insects to sting him. He reportedly developed his own pain index with an elaborative description of how he felt each sting of different species.
Though many stings cause pain and irritation, few may pose a threat to limb and life. Let’s find out more about the worst stings and their owners.
- Scorpions
Scorpions are the world’s most famous stinger with the fearsome-looking sting. It is according to a scorpion expert Lorenzo Prendini of American Museum of National History that only 20 of the 2000 known species are considered to be medically necessary rest of them pose a threat to human life. These dangerous scorpions belong to family Buthidae, whose members are spread around the globe from Brazil to Mexico and from India to sub-Saharan Africa. You can find a few in the Middle East and North Africa as well.
Only those adults who are useful in health and have access to the right medical facilities can survive a scorpion sting. Most fatalities often occur in elderly or young children, mostly in the rural areas that live close by scorpion habitat.
- Jellyfish
Though this deep-sea creature might look very intriguing to you, however, it could be fatal if you touch it. Jellyfish and its relatives release projectiles so that they can defend and capture prey themselves. About 10-15 species of jellyfish are considered to be a threat to human life. The largest box jellyfish weighs up to 2.2lb (1kg). It has multiple long tentacles that are capable of delivering thousands of toxic barbs.
- Bullet ant
People of South and Central America are probably aware and will agree with Schmidt and his take on bullet ants. Even though they are small in size and considerably less poisonous, they, however, live in colonies of up to 10,000 that would swarm any dangerous threat at any time.
- Bees
Now many types of bees may pose a severe threat to human life. These are:
- Asian giant hornets – These are reportedly the largest stinging insect in the world. In Japan, 25-50 people die every year due to the sting of this bee. In 2013, China reported 41 deaths in three months.
- Honeybees – No, don’t worry, it takes a lot of stings for a honeybee to kill you. These are the friendliest and does not pose a severe threat. However, a mere sting can result in localized swelling and pain though there are still factors that make honeybees the deadliest stinger. The first is that honeybees are particularly aggressive, and second is all thanks to our desire of honey that more people come in frequent contact with them, perhaps increasing the chances of the sting.
- Africanized bee or killer bee – Killer bees have killed several people for over a decade. They only attack if you pose any threat to their hive.
A sting can prove to be fatal, be it from ant, jellyfish, scorpion, bees, or any other species. In case of an allergic reaction, you must keep away from any possible causes as it could pose a danger to life as the condition of anaphylaxis might appear. This happens when a person’s immune system over-reacts to an allergen and triggers rapid swelling that leads to difficulty in breathing and tissue damage. Fortunately, anaphylaxis is not common around the world. Around 55 people die in the US every year due to bee stings as you don’t know when it comes to the stinger, which could be the fatal one.
