Find answers to these questions and learn other fascinating facts about the order hymenoptera. Bullet ants are known for having one of the most painful stings in the insect kingdom. 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. These insects stings are measured as the most painful on earth. Schmidt claimed to have been stung by many insects in his research and the pain index is based on firsthand experience. Now that summer is sort of here, and wasps are blithely buzzing around the nations coke cans or san pellegrino, if you want to be posh about your pop, check out the schmidt sting pain index. The 2014 ig nobel prizes were awarded on thursday night, september 18th, 2014 at the 24th first annual ig nobel prize ceremony, at harvards sanders theatre. I have a sting like pain in the head of penis tip, however it worsens after i pee. Schmidt invented an index because without it, we wouldnt understa. The schmidt sting pain index in marvels ant man author bio. Centipedes also have a segmented body like millipedes. Schmidt born 1947, an entomologist at the carl hayden bee research center in arizona.
Schmidt says hes been stung six to eight times by tarantula hawks and just once, in the forehead, by a warrior wasp. In fact, his description of the sting light, ephemeral, almost fruity. This description is one of 78 entries of ant, bee, and wasp stings in his pain scale for stinging insects, widely referred to as the schmidt sting pain index. The sting of the wild weaves schmidts theories about stinging insects through a narrative of his personal experiences digging in the dirt.
For many readers, the highlight of the book will be the appendix, his celebrated pain scale for stinging insects, which rates the pain level of dozens of insect stings, an index he created mostly by. Justin schmidt is an entomologist at the southwest biological institute at the university of arizona. The pain index was first published in the 1980s and revised in the 90s, but the bbc reports that schmidt is working on an updated version with new species. In addition to a numerical ranking of the agony of each of the eightythree stings hes sampled so far, schmidt describes them in prose worthy of a professional wine critic. The 10 most painful stings on the planet, by the self. Based on these experiences, schmidt attempted to categorize the algogenic i.
Hes a scientist, studying various things to do with insects and arachnids, but i like to think of him as a pain enthusiast who stumbled into a career that allowed him to pursue a childhood interest in getting hurt. He description of the sting of the yellow jacket is classic. The 10 most painful stings on the planet, by the selfsacrificing man who tried 150 different varieties in the name of science. According to schmidt, the pain of its sting is literally off the charts. What has a worse sting, a japanese giant hornet or a bullet ant. The sting of the wild includes the complete schmidt sting pain index. That description ought to send some shivers down your spine. Schmidt is a biologist at southwestern biological institute and is associated with the. King of sting dr justin schmidt rates the worlds most painful. But in my masters program, i was stuck inside all the time doing chemistry research. The sting of the wild includes the complete schmidt sting pain index, published here for the first time. Schmidt pain index schmidt not only recorded the observations on a number scale. From nettles to volcano, a pain scale for insect stings. Its called the schmidt sting pain index and it can take some of the mystery and fear out of.
As part of his research, schmidt has experienced no fewer than 1,000 stings in his lifetime. The schmidt sting pain index is a measure of how painful insect stings are. Stinging pain in knuckles doctor answers on healthcaremagic. Chase sapphire reserve card best tax software of 2020 best travel insurance companies. But the best thing about the schmidt index is the descriptions of the pain level of the various stings. The entomologist created the schmidt sting pain index, which ranks. The lowest sting on the schmidt index is a 0betokening a sting which has no effect on humans. Justin has successfully been stung by more than 80 insects species, which in turn allowed him to create the world famous insect sting pain index.
The book includes the famed schmidt sting pain index, akin to the scoville scale, a subjective measure of chili pepper heat. Schmidt, an entomologist at the carl hayden bee research center. Theyre named because many people stung by them says they feel like gunshot wounds. The highest rating is a 4 which describes an experience of maddening absolute agony. Schmidt is wellknown for his entertaining descriptions of the stings that he welcomes wasps and ants to deliver to his unprotected skin. The schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. Modern pests homecare green program can protect against local. Justin schmidts colourful descriptions include how the sting of a. Buy the sting of the wild book online at low prices in. Like firewalking over flaming charcoal with a 3inch rusty nail in your heel.
As a comparison, on this scale, a honeybee apis mellifera is a 2. The sweat bee, for example, which ranks as a one on the pain scale, feels light and ephemeral. As sarah giers noted, insect sting pain is measured on the schmidt sting pain index. The index ranks stinging pain on a scale of 1 red fire ant to 4 warrior wasp and recounts schmidts faceoff with each insect with a poetic, and sometimes humorous, description. So in 1983 he developed the schmidt sting pain index to measure the. It provides a window into understanding ourselves, how we evolved to where we are, and what we might expect in the future. Schmidt pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. Check out this cool graphic of the pain index created by atlas obscura. Schmidt has published a number of papers on the subject, and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging hymenoptera. This appears not to be so, schmidt and blum 1979 and. This index is a captivating blend of subjective pain analysis, horrifying real world experience, and inventive poetry. To do so, they have developed two large forcipules originated from the first pair of legs which can inject venom contained in glands in the trunk of the animal. Call modern pest today at 1800323pest to schedule service.
Schmidt is rather colorful and thorough in his sting descriptions, too. In addition to a numerical ranking of the agony of each of the eightythree stings hes sampled so far from below 1 to an excruciatingly painful 4, schmidt describes them in prose worthy of a professional wine critic. This study rated the painfulness of honey bee stings over 25 body locations in one subject the author. Arguably, its these descriptions that really capture the essence of how and how. Schmidt ranks each insect sting on a scale of one to four, with four being.
These descriptions are very specific and often humorous, such as the one for the red harvester ant, which is bold and unrelenting. Now an entomologist at the university of arizona, he put a scale in the book for the. Schmidt is an e ntomologist at the southwest biological institute, university of arizona. While millipedes are detritivores, centipedes are carnivorous arthropods that hunt their preys actively.
To test this, schmidt would rate the pain and write a description. The sting of a velvet ant is very painful, a 3 out of a possible 4 on the schmidt sting pain index. Have you ever wondered why a honeybee worker can only sting something once in its lifetime, while a wasp lives to sting again. Justin schmidt is an entomologist with a job that few would envy. At 0, the insect is completely ineffective at causing pain to humans. The schmidt sting pain index rates the painfulness of 78 hymenoptera species, using the honey bee as a reference point. But with around 150 creepy crawlies stinging, biting and generally annoying dr schmidt, there are are whole host of pseudo wine cellar descriptions on the list for us to enjoy. In this fascinating article from atlas obscura, visitors can. However, the question of how sting painfulness varies depending on body location remains unanswered. Sweat bees may sting several times before you produce a reaction of itching, swelling and heat. In addition to a numerical ranking of the agony of each of the eightythree stings hes sampled so far from below 1 to an excruciatingly painful 4, schmidt describes them in prose.
Schmidt admitted that the scale and descriptions he has written about the stings isnt perfectly empirical, but it can help people understand how painful stings can be. In 1983, he created the schmidt sting pain index, a scale that rates the. The scout report volume 23, number 32 internet scout. The index suggests that the pain from one sting is. Why are bullet ant sting reactions so over dramatic. Schmidt sting pain index notes methods to estimate species diversity include extrapolating the rate of species descriptions by subfamily as in the braconidae until zero is reached. As one might surmise given the nature of the research, the schmidt index is subjective and based on limited data points. Schmidt ranks each insect sting on a scale of one to four, with four being the most painful. Ranking the pain of stinging insects, from caustic to. This description is one of 78 entries of ant, bee, and wasp stings in his pain scale for stinging insects, widely referred to as the schmidt sting. He described the 1point pain of the mud dauber as sharp with a flare of heat. He is also the creator the schmidt sting pain index, an entertainingly original way of measuring and describing the relative pain insects inflict on humans and other animals.
Schmidt has now written an excellent book about his quest to. Schmidt has gathered all this data in a new book called the sting of the wild. The honey bee ranks at 2 on the scale, while the most painful sting recorded is by the south american bullet ant, which ranks at 4. Schmidt describes the bullet ants sting as incapacitating it maintains its intensity for at least 12 hours, and often twice that.
Pain was rated on a 110 scale, relative to an internal standard. The schmidt pain index is a scale measuring the pain of insect stings on individuals. Ranking the pain of stinging insects, from caustic to blinding. Schmidt is a madman who decided it would be cool to get himself stung by as many things that can sting as possible. We learn which insects are the worst to encounter and why some are barely worth considering. He also describes each sting with evocative, even poetic, language.