- Buzz, buzz.
Oh, hey there.
You look kind of tasty.
Mind if I have a bite?
Thanks.
Insects are often annoying.
I mean, no one wants to get bit by a mosquito.
But there are some insects in this world
that make mosquitoes look like a good time
because they're not just annoying.
They can kill you.
(buzzing)
Here are the 10 deadliest insects in the world.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Number 10 is the bullet ant.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
There are some incredibly dangerous insects out there,
no question, but one specific creature has a sting
that's reportedly so devastating those who have experienced
them have claimed it was the equivalent to getting shot.
The paraponera clavata, more commonly known
as the bullet ant, is found in wet, humid areas.
More specifically, rain forests, like in Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, and Honduras, as well as several
South American countries.
It gets its nickname from its sting,
which often leaves the bullet ant's victims
with wave after wave of throbbing, burning pain
that continues to relentlessly torment
for over 24 hours.
It's like a bee sting on steroids.
The ant's venom poneratoxin, directly affects
the nervous system, blocking synaptic transmissions
which can read to paralysis.
Still probably better than a real bullet,
but best avoid it.
(buzzing)
Number nine is the bot fly.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Found in Central and South Americas,
bot flies are insects that don't just simply pester
humans but actually turn them into their own
disgusting nurseries.
"Oh, you look warm.
"I'm just gonna put some children in you.
"Hold on."
These insects, which look more like bees than flies,
are covered in hair, use other bugs such as mosquitoes
and ticks to transport up to 50 of their eggs
to potential hosts.
That means you!
Once they come into contact with warm human skin,
the larvae will attach themselves and hatch,
the babies burrowing down and eating their way
into the muscle while maintaining a painful hole
to breathe through.
Okay, this gets gross.
Hosts can often feel them moving,
with some claiming they can actually hear
the parasites consuming them.
Most often, maggots drop out of the host
after six to eight weeks, only leaving a scar.
But sometimes, they can eat their way to dangerous
areas such as the eye or even the brain.
You see that.
That's where he burrowed in.
I call him Dave.
Wait, I think he got to my brain.
Agh!
(buzzing)
Number eight are killer bees.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Created by scientists in Brazil who were attempting
to increase honey production in the 1950's,
the Africanized or killer bee is a cross
between the African honey bee and various
European species.
These insects slowly made their way to North America
after 26 swarms somehow escaped quarantine
in 1957.
(buzzes) "Oh, yeah, we're free.
"We're gonna start some trouble!"
By 1990, hives of the dangerous creatures
had been found as far north as Texas.
Killer bees react more quickly and intensely
than other bees, and have been known to chase
someone over 500 meters after being disturbed,
stinging them over and over.
Their venom can cause problems in the respiratory system,
renal failure, and even issues with the victim's heart.
To date, these bees have taken over 1,000 human's lives,
as well as countless pets, horses, and other animals
that someone managed to upset them.
And you thought you were afraid of getting stung before.
(chuckles) It gets worse!
(buzzing)
Number seven are fire ants.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Named both for their scorching color
and burning pain that they inflict while attacking,
fire ants are found all over the world
but have become a fairly big problem
in the Southern United States.
It's saying something that at least in the United States,
nearly 60% of the people who live in areas
where fire ants can be found are stung by these insects
each year, and many of them find themselves
in the hospital due to having an allergic reaction
to the ant's venom or simply receiving too many
bites and stings.
Tragically, a number of people have lost their lives
to these tiny yet fiery pests, while tens of millions
of other have had to deal with minor injuries.
Oh, that little red ant bit me.
I'm on fire!
Reports show that fire ants cause around $750 million
in damage to the agricultural industry
and around $5 billion is spent on medical treatment
to deal with them.
"So, class, what did you learn today?"
"Stay away from red ants."
"Yes, Timmy, that's right, you stay away.
"Medical bills are high!"
(buzzing)
Number six is the giant Japanese hornet.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
If you have a fear of wasps or hornets,
then these things are probably the stuff
of your nightmares.
The giant Japanese hornet can grow to more
than 4.5 centimeters in length with a wingspan
of over six centimeters.
That's a big bug!
These huge versions of the insect
are more than just a pest in Japan
and become very aggressive upon provocation,
stinging their targets and injecting their venom
with a 6.25 millimeter long stinger.
It's kind of like getting a huge needle,
except it's full of venom and on an insect's butt.
While the smaller, more common hornets
can kill an individual who's allergic to their venom,
the giant Japanese hornet can kill someone
who isn't allergic.
The toxins attack the nervous system
and can even cause renal failure.
Every year in Japan, between 30 and 40 people
lose their lives due to stings from bees and wasps,
and these giant hornets are a big reason for that.
Just a little something to think about
next time you plan a picnic.
(buzzing)
Number five are driver ants.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Unlike the popular nursery rhyme,
these ants don't go marching one by one.
They go marching in droves, and though tiny,
their destructive capabilities are uncanny.
Located primarily in Central and Eastern Africa,
driver ants are known for how efficiently
they overwhelm and consume their pray.
That could be you!
These insects have mandibles, power scissor-like jaws
that are incredibly large in relation to their bodies.
Though they can sting as well, driver ants
most often use these mandibles to latch onto their target,
tearing through it swiftly and causing severe pain.
The jaws of these creatures are so strong
that they're often used as emergency sutures,
and the healer making them bite down on a gash
before breaking off the body.
Now the good news is one bite likely won't kill you.
However, drive ants form colonies
of up to 20 million, and that many can.
"Oh, Timmy, look, an ant hill!"
"Stay away!
"You stay away!
"Stay away, nope!"
(buzzing)
Number four is the kissing bug.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Although it has a cute sounding name,
this insect is one you definitely don't want
to be intimate with.
Also referred to as vampire bugs and assassin bugs
as well as many other names across their habitats,
kissing bugs are so named due to the fact
that they tend to focus their bites on a person's face,
specifically their lips, while their victim is asleep.
But that's not all.
Get ready for more grossness.
They then defecate in the small wounds,
infecting the individual with a parasite
called a Trypanosoma cruzi.
This parasite causes Chagas disease,
a condition that can affect the central nervous system
and even the heart.
Chagas disease complications took nearly 8,000 lives
in 2015, with most of the deaths occurring
in Mexico, Central America, and South America.
This is because that's most commonly where kissing bugs
are found.
Guess where I'm not moving?
Anybody, anybody?
Okay.
Those places, those places.
(buzzing)
Number three are tsetse flies.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Also referred to as tic tic flies,
these insects have existed for ages,
with some fossilized remains being discovered
in Colorado, United States that date back
to around 34 million years ago.
Tsetse flies are parasites.
They survive by consuming blood from vertebrates
and deliver nasty bites to those that they see
as a food source.
Found most often in tropical areas in Africa,
these pests are notorious not only for the nasty sting
you get when they bite you, but for the potentially
deadly diseases that they can transmit
from one host to the next.
The most common of these diseases
is trypanosomiasis, often referred to as sleeping sickness,
which causes weakness, lethargy, weight loss, and anemia.
The disease is transferred through the tsetse's fly saliva
and is proven fatal in those who do not receive
treatment in time.
So next time you see a little fly on you,
don't just go like this and think nothing of it.
Remember, it might have just bitten you
and given you a nasty disease.
(buzzing)
Number two are fleas.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Beyond the obvious torment that these insects
cause our pets, it may surprise you to learn
that fleas are possibly responsible for more human deaths
than any war our planet has ever seen.
These creatures are parasites,
measuring only 1.5 millimeters to 3.3 millimeters long.
But don't let their size fool you.
The wingless hopping pests sustain themselves
by piercing their prey's skin with their proboscis
and sucking their blood while staying attached
through the use of their powerful claws.
Got you now!
While these bites are more annoying than painful,
mostly because of the itch that comes with them,
they often also bring diseases,
many of them quite serious.
The best example is also the most lethal,
the bubonic plague, also known as the black death,
which fleas transferred from host to host,
helping to take nearly 200 million lives.
Excuse me, I'm going to get one of those (buzzes)
bug zapping lights, because I'm not risking it.
(buzzing)
And number one is the mosquito.
(birds chirping)
(buzzing)
Nobody likes being bitten by mosquitoes,
but anyone who's been in warm climates
has almost definitely been on the insect's menu.
With the bites being so common,
it may surprise you that many experts
consider the tiny parasites to be the most deadly insects
on planet Earth.
So just how close have you been to having your life
snuffed out by these diminutive pests?
Well, it's unlikely that you'd ever die of blood loss,
as even in large swarms, it's next to impossible
for them to take enough plasma to seriously hurt you.
No, the threat from them comes from the diseases
they often carry, many of them being quite serious,
such as West Nile Virus, yellow fever, and malaria.
The dangers they pose have made their species
the most deadly animal family in the world.
So remember that the next time you go (slap).
And, you're dead.
You're going to sleep well tonight, huh?
But those are the 10 deadliest insects in the world.
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Thank you guys for watching (buzzes)
and I'll see you next time.
Bye! (buzzes)