Most Painful Insect sting?

1. 75

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

   Most Painful Insect sting?
   
   What is the most painful insect or other bug bite you have ever sustained?
   
   I know my answer is the red wasp - but I'm in Texas, and I'm very interested in what everyone has to say, and especially persons that live far away from me.
   
   

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2. 72

   crazyhorsesghostposted 12 years ago

   Well from one single insect it would have to be from the Giant Japanese Yellow Hornet. I was stung by one the other day on the stomach and it still hurts. It flew in the open car window and stung me.
   
   But if there are more than one of them the yellow jacket is ferocious and you for sure don't want to be attacked by a bunch of them. People have run out into traffic trying to get away from them. They are one of the most bad tempered of all the stinging insects.
   
   In the American south they are often disturbed by people mowing grass and once they attack they will keep attacking till you are out of their area. You should see them swarm and attack a lawn mower.

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3. 70

   davenmidtownposted 12 years ago

   Crazyhorsesghost has a good point too, but I say either of the following.
   
   The female velvet ant which is also known as the cow killer... will cause grown men to wreath on the ground and scream... by the way.. this is not an ant at all but a wasp.
   
   The tarantula hawk which is also a wasp... about two inches long will also cause grown men to fall to the ground and cry out unable to move. 
   
   Fortunately, these wasps are not highly aggressive... so one must pick them up, sit on them or otherwise provoke them...

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4. 75

   lone77starposted 12 years ago

   I don't remember seeing the red wasp in West Texas. When I lived in Maryland, I was stung by an ordinary bee and that was painful enough. It felt like a red hot poker touching my hand. I was in a park, playing catch with my brothers and reached up my hand and zap! The stinger was still in my hand.
   
   That was nearly 50 years ago, and I've had nothing worse since then. Now, I live in the Philippines and I see occasionally what look like fat, black bumble bees, but never had the displeasure of raising their ire. I've learned to grow still when such an insect approaches.
   
   Also when I lived in Maryland, I did happen to mow over the top of a nest of some kind of stinging insect. Looked a little like yellow jackets, but I didn't stay around long enough to verify.

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5. 62

   Nettlemereposted 12 years ago

   An entomologist called Justin Schmidt has devised a pain scale for insect bites having been stung by 150 different kinds of insects. At the most painful end of his scale is the bullet ant with the tarantula hawk wasp in second place. He describes the bullet ant sting as 'pure intense brilliant pain' - and I'm sure he's not using brilliant in the sense of wonderful!

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6. 96

   sgbrownposted 12 years ago

   Here is Southern Oklahoma, the red wasp is very common. We also have yellow jackets, honeybees and bumble bees. I have been stung by the yellow jacket, honeybee and the red wasp and have to say the red wasp is the most painful.
   
   I was weed-eating around an old boat we have behind the barn and apparently struck a nest of red wasp. They swarmed around me as I began to run backwards. Only one was able to catch me, thank God!  It felt as though someone stuck a hot match to my  arm, but the pain doesn't last long.
   
   I stepped on a honeybee once while walking barefoot in the grass. That stung, but not as badly as the red wasp and again, the pain was short lived.
   
   I was picking up a pair of my daughters shoes she had left outside one day, and as I ran my hand into her shoe, there was a yellow jacket inside. That was quite a surprise!
   
   Great picture of the red wasp by the way!

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7. 59

   justomposted 12 years ago

   I never get stung Todd. Really, I am so relaxed around bees wasps etc. that they never bother me. In fact I get kinda' pissed when folks kill them just because they're scared. I haven't even been bitten by mosquito's for probably 40 years. I sit with Justin in his back yard and he get eaten up, they just land on me then fly away. I always said it was the bourbon :-P Having said all that the worst sting I ever encountered was from my ex wife, it stung for years :-/

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8. 59

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   Last summer I was stung on my arm by a bald headed hornet after running my arm down the side of our dog. I never even knew it was there until it flew away.  I was stunned at how painful it was.  For 3 days my arm continued to swell and redden, then about day 4 it started to go down.  I do not want a repeat of this!  i am in Montana.

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9. 0

   DoItForHerposted 12 years ago

   Depends on where you get stung. A sting on the ear or the lip is quite the attention getter!
   
   However, all things being equal, I've had a couple of pretty bad spider bites, but those aren't insects.

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10. 60

    JamesGrantSmithposted 11 years ago

    It would have to be a Fattail scorpion, they are incredibly dangerous, one spike and you could go into shock and die.

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    1. 70

       davenmidtownposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       A scorpion is not an insect...

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    2. 60

       JamesGrantSmithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Yes they are an arachnids, but they are pretty deadly worse than any insect.

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