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The science of agony: ranking nature's most painful stings
From bullet ants to warrior wasps and venomous jellyfish, researchers have spent decades cataloging the animal kingdom's most excruciating stings-often by enduring them firsthand.
The sting pain index: a legacy of self-experimentation
The modern study of sting pain began with Justin Schmidt, an entomologist who created the Schmidt Sting Pain Index by subjecting himself to bites from 96 insect species. His four-tier scale classified stings from "almost pleasant" (Level 1) to "pure torture" (Level 4), with poetic descriptions of each sensation.
Level 2 included the honey wasp-"spicy, blistering. A cotton swab dipped in habanero sauce has been pushed up your nose." Level 3 featured the Dasymutilla klugii ant: "Explosive and long-lasting. Hot oil from a deep fryer spilling over your entire hand."
Schmidt's Level 4: the elite of agony
Only three species earned Schmidt's highest rating:
- Bullet ant: "Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over hot coals with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel." The sting's effects last 24 hours.
- Tarantula hawk: "Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer dropped into your bubble bath."
- Warrior wasp: "Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano."
Schmidt died in 2023, but his work inspired successors like YouTube host Coyote Peterson, who expanded the list by enduring stings from unranked species.
Peterson's additions: Tyson punches and executioner wasps
After testing 30 species, Peterson nominated two more for Level 4:
"The Japanese giant hornet was unquestionably the worst on impact-like getting hit in the face by Mike Tyson. I whited out."
Coyote Peterson, Brave Wilderness
The executioner wasp (Polistes carnifex), however, claimed the top spot. Its venom caused necrosis, leaving Peterson with a permanent scar: "like a cigarette burn." Scientists still don't fully understand its venom's composition.
Jellyfish: delayed torment and existential dread
Marine stingers rival insects in pain. The Irukandji jellyfish, though tiny, delivers venom that triggers Irukandji syndrome-a delayed cascade of symptoms including:
- A "jackhammer to the kidneys" lasting 12 hours.
- Unrelenting vomiting and profuse sweating.
- "Wave after wave of true agony" with full-body spasms.
Most uniquely, victims experience an overwhelming sense of doom. "Patients have begged doctors to kill them," says jellyfish researcher Lisa-ann Gershwin. The venom's porins punch holes in cell membranes, while suspected effects on sodium channels flood the body with adrenaline and dopamine.
Other marine contenders
The Australian box jellyfish, the world's deadliest jellyfish, leaves whip-like marks: "It feels like boiling oil." Meanwhile, the fireworm's venomous spines cause burning pain for hours, and the stonefish's sting delivers 48 hours of agony with lingering numbness.
The ultimate question: which sting wins?
Comparing insect and marine stingers is nearly impossible-few dare to endure both. Peterson refuses to test jellyfish due to their lethal potential, while Gershwin warns that Irukandji stings can cause brain hemorrhages or heart failure.
The answer may require a survivor of Irukandji syndrome to brave Schmidt's Level 4 insects-"sounds like a BBC Earth show in the making," quips the article.
