- (groaning) Wow!
(dramatic music) (groaning)
(dramatic music)
Oh yeah, it's getting bad.
(intense tribal music)
She's becoming secured to me.
Oh, I thought she was about to bite.
The reason I'm doing this is to prove
that these scorpions aren't just out there to sting you.
(screaming)
- What is this? - There it is!
(screaming)
- [Coyote] Oh, gross!
There's no question that the Coyote Pack
loves to learn about creepy creatures and over the years,
we have gotten an entirely new generation
excited about animals by getting up close
and sometimes dangerously personal.
Oh, he's trying to bite me.
It's fair to say that we have some popular videos
but the ones that can be truly considered viral sensations
center around the onslaught of insect stings I have taken.
(screaming)
The world famous Insect Sting Pain Index,
which was brilliantly created
by entomologist, Justin Schmidt,
became the roadmap to producing these videos.
So now for the first time ever,
we have decided to compile together
everyone's favorite moments and my most painful,
in an episode titled, "Just the Sting."
(dramatic music)
Hidden within the darkness of the Costa Rican rain forest,
a legend exists beneath the ancient canopy.
Indigenous people refer to it as Bala, which means bullet.
It is rumored that just a single sting from this animal
is so excruciating that it feels
as if one has been shot with a gun.
(groaning)
Oh, it's stuck in my arm.
It's stuck in my arm.
(groaning)
The stinger is stuck in my arm.
Look at that.
(groaning)
Okay, it's off, it's off, it's off.
Oh my gosh!
The stinger was stuck into my forearm, right into the vein.
There is the sting insertion point right there.
Oh my gosh.
It is like (screaming) it's hot.
Oh, I can feel the venom already right in my forearm.
(heavy breathing)
(screaming)
(heavy breathing)
Oh my gosh.
Oh, it's burning more.
(suspenseful music)
I'm gonna go ahead and get stripe tail
out of the container here.
Got you.
Look at this.
It's just chomping onto the forceps with those pedipalps.
Are you ready?
(exhaling)
One.
Two.
Three.
(suspenseful music)
Ow!
(groaning)
Hold on, he's right there.
Let me get him.
(groaning)
Oh yeah, he got me.
Aw, did you see that?
- [Man] Yeah.
(groaning)
Tell us what is happening.
(groaning)
- [Coyote] It burns.
(groaning)
Yeah.
Yeah, right there.
You see right there on the side of my finger?
Do you see that? - Yeah.
- Little red spot. - Just barely.
- [Coyote] That little red spot.
(groans)
Oh wow, that like shot me backwards.
Did you see that? - Yeah.
- [Coyote] That was a sharp little wing.
(suspenseful music)
Basically just gonna put my hands down right here
in front of their burrow and let them hop on.
Ah!
Yeah, getting stung already.
Oh that burns.
The venom is laced with an alkaloid poison
which when released releases an alarm pheromone
that causes other ants in the area to attack.
Ah! Ah!
They're all over my hands now.
Look at that.
This was very obvious,
as after the first sting was inflicted it seemed as if
the entire colony was called to the front lines.
(groaning) Ah, there's one on my neck!
Mario, get the one off my neck.
Ah!
(grunting)
My arms, my hands, the back of my head
are absolutely on fire right now.
Wow, the harvester ant is one formidable little foe.
I can tell you that much.
(suspenseful music)
The velvet ant, which is actually
a species of ground wasp and not an ant at all,
claims a famous nickname, the cow killer.
However, there are no reported cases of cows
or humans, for that matter,
ever dying from a velvet ant sting.
And go.
(suspenseful music)
Ow!
(groaning)
Hold on, okay!
(heavy breathing)
Give me a second.
Oh my gosh.
- [Man] You all right?
- Oh yeah.
- [Man] What are you feeling, what does it feel like?
- Give me a second.
Give me a second.
(heavy breathing)
Oh my gosh, guys, this is super bad.
(heavy breathing)
Hold on, I gotta try to control my heart rate.
(rapid shallow breathing)
You could feel it go all the way under the skin,
all the way in, I could feel it insert into my arm.
(suspenseful music)
(dramatic music)
Just based on the knowledge
that these are extremely aggressive,
I have a feeling that the sting is going to be
unbelievably painful but (exhales)
I am mentally prepared to take this sting
and I know that this is the moment
that everybody's been waiting for.
Whoa, look at that stinger.
(dramatic music)
(exhaling)
(suspenseful music)
(screaming)
(groaning)
- [Man] That's turning red already.
- [Coyote] Ah.
- [Man] Talk to me, what are you feeling?
- [Coyote] Oh man.
Oh man, yeah, nope, it's bad.
Oh man, it's getting a lot worse.
Really quickly. - What does it feel like?
- So far, not as bad as a bullet ant though.
(groaning) Nope, nope, nope.
Hold on.
(screaming)
It's a sharp shooting pain.
(dramatic music)
- [Man] No turning back now, buddy.
(dramatic music)
That's a lot of bees.
- [Coyote] My leg is shaking.
Ow.
Stung in the lip.
(groaning)
- [Man] You got it.
You got this. - Getting stung a lot.
I've gotten stung about six times.
- [Man] You definitely have a full neck of bees.
- I can feel them all.
- [Man] Are you still getting stung?
- No, not right now.
- [Man] So what does Coyote Peterson-
- Ah, I got stung on the lip again!
- [Man] Oh no!
(groaning)
- [Coyote] All right, I think I need to get 'em off.
- Are you okay, or you want 'em off?
- It's a lot of pain.
- [Man] Go ahead and just jump.
Real hard and just knock them off.
Whoa!
- They're all in my face.
My eyes!
- [Man] You all right?
(dramatic music)
(suspenseful music)
- There it is,
the Japanese Giant Hornet,
and I would say that giant is an understatement.
From its head to its thorax,
down its legs which end in grappling hooked feet
and then of course that enormous, pulsating abdomen,
everything about this creature screams,
"Run in the other direction," yet here we are,
on the doorstep of the executioner wasp
and what we're gonna find out today
is just how painful the sting of this hornet really is.
(screaming)
Oh, the stinger's stuck in my arm.
(groaning)
(dramatic music)
Oh!
- [Man] How bad is it?
- Oh man, wave of dizziness really quick.
(screaming)
(groaning)
Oh, searing pain.
(screaming)
When the stinger went into my arm,
I had this like wave, like a wave came over me
and I got super dizzy.
Almost didn't feel what was happening
and then pain just was like immediate, immediately searing.
(suspenseful music)
(dramatic music)
Holy cow.
Ow, ow, ow!
Oh! (groaning)
(heavy breathing)
Ah, ah! (groaning)
Okay, I'm gonna have to take
my hands out pretty quickly, guys.
Ah, ah, ah!
Ah!
(groaning)
- [Man] You can do it, man.
- I can't, I can't, I gotta stop, I gotta stop.
I gotta stop!
They're still on me.
My hands are on fire right now.
Ah, it is worse than the harvester ant.
There's no question about it.
In total, I sustained over 300 stings and for over a week,
I suffered through incredible discomfort
which included flashes of pain and continuous itching.
It took over 30 days for the pustules to completely diminish
and they left behind a trail of scars
that today serve as a constant reminder
of why you never want to tangle with fire ants.
(suspenseful music)
That is the largest species of wasp
in the United States, ladies and gentlemen.
Now you look at this insect and you say to yourself,
"Tarantula hawk?"
Well it's not a tarantula and it's not a hawk
but like a hawk, they hunt for tarantulas.
This hawk is so quick, she will spin her abdomen
up underneath the belly of the tarantula,
insert that quarter inch stinger and the venom
will instantly put that tarantula into a state of paralysis
and this ladies and gentlemen,
is where the true horror story begins.
(screaming)
(heavy breathing)
- [Man] You all right?
- (groaning) Yup.
(groaning)
Oh my gosh.
(screaming)
- [Man] Okay?
(screaming)
Tell me what you're feeling.
- [Coyote] I can't move my arm.
(screaming)
(heavy breathing)
That is the most intense pain I've ever felt.
Don't think I can talk.
(intense music) (screaming)
(screaming)
(groaning)
- [Man] Are you okay, man?
I'm getting nervous.
Are you feeling anything like, should we be worried?
- Nope, I just can't move my arm.
(heavy breathing)
It is, it's like my arm
is in a state of paralysis right now.
(suspenseful music)
The eastern mountainous slopes of Costa Rica
seem to be a world swarming with stinging insects
and if bullet ants and warrior wasps were not enough,
the remote untamed wilds of this rainforest ecosystem
had one more painful sting up their sleeve.
With an intimidating specimen safely contained
within the viewing capsule,
we returned to our jungle base camp
and began scouring the internet
for an identification to our find.
All right guys, so we have looked up vespid wasps
of Latin America and I found a great site,
and I have found out what this is.
- What is it? - It is not a new species.
It is actually called the executioner wasp.
- [Man] What?
Whoa. - Talk about a horrific name.
Right?
You can see it's completely calmed down at this point.
It is just waiting to inflict a sting.
Oh boy, this here.
- [Man] Yeah, I'm ready.
(suspenseful music)
- I'm Coyote Peterson,
and I'm about to enter the sting zone with
the executioner wasp, here we go.
One.
(exhaling) Two.
Three.
(dramatic music)
Ah!
(screaming)
(groaning)
Oh my gosh!
Oh, that's really bad, really quick.
- [Man] How bad is it?
(screaming)
(groaning)
- Oh, right there!
Oh, you can see the venom
coming right out of my arm right there.
You see that?
Oh my gosh!
It's getting worse.
(screaming)
Stop burning!
(groaning)
(dramatic music)
(exhaling)
(groaning)
Now in this instance, I do not know if the pain
is going to last for more than hour,
more than five hours, more than 36 hours,
but I can tell you right now that the pain
has lasted longer than the tarantula hawk
and at this moment, it is worse than the bullet ant.
So in this immediate presentation,
I am declaring the executioner wasp
as being the King of Sting as it currently stands.
(heavy breathing)
All right, guys.
I'm just gonna go ahead and give you an outro
'cause I am starting to have trouble
composing my words here.
- [Man] Yeah, we're concerned, man.
You're not out of the woods yet, are you?
- No.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Man, this is intense.
(suspenseful music)
Getting stung isn't exactly fun
but I'm glad that these videos have helped educate
and excite the Coyote Pack, especially when it comes
to understanding creepy creatures
like wasps and bullet ants.
I am experiencing hot, radiating waves of pain.
People always want to know if the sting videos will return.
Is there something out there more painful
than the executioner wasp?
New insects are being discovered every year
and many of them have the ability to sting.
I've heard the Wallace's giant bee likely packs a wallop.
I guess we'll just have to see where the adventure takes us.
You never know what kind of stinging insect
will be lurking around the next bend in the unbroken trail.
Whoa.
Hey Coyote Pack, if you want more than just the sting,
make sure to check out one of my latest books,
"The King of Sting," where we reveal some top-secret,
behind the scenes elements of how
these viral videos were created.
Just click on the link in the video description below.
And for more of your favorite animal adventure content,
make sure to subscribe and ring the notification bell.
- I think the beauty of what we're both doing
is we're trying to make education and knowledge
and love for insects and life in general
as our ultimate goal.
(growling)
(birds chirping)