I was stung by a Tarantula Hawk - whats your worsts sting?

I was stung by a Tarantula Hawk today. It got me in the arm while I was skipping behind my house. I heard the little monster coming at me - it sounded kind of like a sky full of B1 bombers. Then I quickly saw it barrel for me, and then - STING.

It felt like a thousand flaming daggers being stabbed into my arm. I actually screamed from the pain, which I never do, and then ran back to my house like a mad cow. I slapped my arm as hard as I could to dilute the pain, and put blocks of ice on it, but the pain was so excruciating those things were futile. I have never felt such intense pain in my life - it was worse than a bee - probably 4 to 5x worse - and I mean that conservatively.

A few tears streamed down my face as the pain became brilliant - and then it suddenly dissipated and within 15 minutes I felt almost fine.

I looked it up. I discovered the Schimdt Pain Index which rates how painful different stings of ants, wasps and bees are. The Tarantula Hawk was at the top of the scale, only below the Bullet Ant.

Heres a wikipedia copy paste -

* 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 W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.

* 2.x Honey bee and European hornet: 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.

* 4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.[3]


My question -whats the worst sting you've ever had before? I wish centipedes and scorpions were included on this list. I bet a 12 inch tropical centipede would top the list, or be somewhere up there.

 

worst sting around here is from a asian hornet.

they are huge and will put the hurtin on you.. also will cause even those who are not allergic to get sick..

i really couldnt imagine a sting being worse. looking up the tarantula hawks size i would have to think the asian hornets sting and its are about the same..

 

Damn, that thing looks terrifying. Its bigger than the Tarantula Hawk by a bit. I think it's size alone might make its sting comparable. I'm surprised it's not on the list, but maybe Justin Schmidt never got the chance to be stung by one since it only lives in Asia.

 

no they are in the united states as well. we have them here in georgia.

i was reading and comparing the two, their stinger is a little bit smaller 1/4 inch where as the tarantula hawk is a 1/3 of a inch but the asian hornets venom contains 5% of a toxin that attacks the nerve endings and increases the pain of the sting..

they truly are brutal.