Isn’t it amazing how something so little can spell huge trouble for animals and humans alike?
Such is the wonder of nature. Watch out for these tiny buggers because they will show absolutely no
mercy to those who threaten them. Here are the 10 Most Dangerous Insects Alive Today!
What’s up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse,
serving up your daily dose of the most outrageous, outlandish and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Watch ‘til the end because one bite of our number one pick can send you straight to the ER!
Are you ready for the painful truth? Let’s begin.
#10: Executioner Wasp
This alien-looking bug is native to Central and South America.
Its scientific name “Polistes carnifex”-- which means
“executioner” in Latin – should give you a pretty good idea how potent its sting is!
The executioner wasp might as well be the judge and jury as well because its sting takes
no prisoners. You just have to take wildlife expert Coyote Peterson’s word for it when he
intentionally got stung by this wasp. Fair warning;
don’t try this at home. Coyote did it in the name of science.
Peterson: Stop burning!
Oh my gosh! That’s really bad, really quick! As you can see the blood underneath
my skin is throbbing! It’s burning! Uncontrollably!
Ouch, the executioner lives up to its name!
According to Peterson, the burning sensation comes in
waves, but thankfully, it eventually goes away. Although he claimed that
his arm was swollen for days and a small hole formed at the puncture site! Yikes!
If you thought that was excruciating,
then you’d wish you won’t ever encounter our number one entry in your lifetime!
#9: Asp Caterpillar
Not everything that’s fluffy and fuzzy
are actually cute and cuddly. Well, certainly not the asp caterpillar!
Don’t you ever dare get too close to these
deceptively gentle insects because their venomous spines are not made for petting.
One touch may cause throbbing pain, a painful rash or red spots. And that’s just the beginning
of it. Further down the line, the victim may experience symptoms such as swelling, nausea,
abdominal pain, headache, enlargement of the lymph nodes, shock, and even respiratory stress!
This creepy crawler is endemic to the southern US,
and usually stays in shade trees and shrubs around homes, schools, and parks.
In 2018, a Georgian teenager named Ryan Parish
accidentally came in contact with an asp caterpillar for just a few seconds,
but the poor kid suffered seizures and was immediately rushed to the hospital!
But on the bright side, once these caterpillars grow into a full-fledged flannel moth,
they cease to be venomous.
#8: Driver Ant
Remember that scene from Indiana Jones 4 where the group was attacked by vicious killer ants?
Well, in real life, they’re not as enormous as they’re made out to be onscreen,
and they certainly can’t devour an entire human being in a matter of
seconds even if they tried. But they’re still pretty scary IRL.
Mostly found in Africa and Asia, swarms of driver ants can kill
small or immobilized animals, but the African driver ant is the only species known to attack
humans --- mostly infants or incapacitated individuals. They potentially kill the victim
through asphyxiation or suffocation, but they don’t really eat human flesh.
However, just a single bite is extremely painful and will leave two puncture wounds.
Their mandibles are so powerful that even indigenous tribes in East
Africa use them as emergency sutures for cuts!
Talk about natural remedy!
#7: Botfly
Now here’s one parasite that deserves an Oscar for being the most repulsive insect ever!
This bug will literally make your skin crawl,
because their larvae grow in the flesh of their hosts! How?
After mating with a housefly or a mosquito, the female botfly
attaches its eggs onto the insect’s abdomen where they incubate, which the insect then transfers
to a mammal host’s skin by way of biting. The botfly larvae thrive in warm mammal bodies,
feeding off the flesh until they mature. And when they’re ready to spread their wings,
they force themselves out of the hosts skin! Ugh, it’s the stuff horror movies!
#6. Killer Bee
Now let’s talk about family trees.
In 1956, a scientist brought East African lowland honeybees to Brazil with the goal of
increasing honey production. Unfortunately, these buzzers escaped and bred with other
European subspecies like the Italian and Iberian honeybees -- which spawned the Africanized bees,
or now more popularly known as killer bees!
This new breed of bees eventually made it to as far as Mexico, California, and San Francisco!
So what’s the buzz about them? Well, their bee-havior is described as much
more defensive than other honeybee varieties. They can chase a person for up to a quarter of a mile,
and their killer instincts have taken down horses, other animals, and reportedly, even humans!
People with allergic reactions to bee stings will suffer severe health problems,
apart from dizziness, pain, rashes, and nausea.
Better steer clear from them because stings from about 1,000 killer bees
can deliver a dose of toxin enough to kill an average-sized adult!
#5: Asian Giant Hornet
If the fact that they’re the largest species of hornets in the world isn’t
enough to scare you, then I don’t know what will.
The Asian giant hornet, or Japanese giant hornet, can grow up to two inches long, has a wingspan of
3 inches, and boasts a 6-millimeter stinger that holds a dangerous amount of venom! One
Japanese entomologist even described the sting as feeling like a hot nail being driven into the leg!
People have been wary of sightings of these hornets in Asia, North America, Vancouver,
British Columbia, and in Washington state. And rightfully so, because in 2013, these
bugs killed over 40 people and injured over 1,600 more in deadly swarm attacks in Shaanxi, China.
Most of the deaths were due to anaphylactic shock or cardiac arrest after suffering multiple stings.
All I know is the only sting I’m down for is this kind of Sting.
#4: Bullet Ant
In the Schmidt sting pain index, which measures the pain scale rating of an insect sting,
this ant’s sting ranks as one of the world’s most painful. In fact,
the creator of the index Justin O. Schmidt, described the bullet ant’s sting
as like “fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail on your heel.”
The man sure has a way with words, I’ll give him that.
But despite this, young men of the Sateré-Mawé tribe who inhabit the northern region of Amazonas
use bullet ants as part of their initiation rites to become a warrior! The ants are sedated and are
woven into gloves with the stingers facing inwards. The aspiring warrior then puts the
mitts on and as soon as the pismires awaken, he must endure five full minutes of attacks!
But wait, there’s more! He has to do this 20 times over the course of several months!
According to accounts, the young men’s arms usually get paralyzed from all the venom,
and some end up shaking uncontrollably for days!
That ought to make a man out of them!
#3: Mosquito
Time to call the “swat” team, ‘coz these pesky buggers are everywhere!
While some mosquitoes are relatively harmless,
other species serve as carriers of dangerous diseases, causing millions of deaths every year!
Mosquito-borne illnesses include malaria, West Nile virus, zika virus, yellow fever,
chikungunya and dengue fever. Malaria alone kills at least one million people every year,
with most of the deaths occurring in children below five years old!
But did you know that only female mosquitoes bite?
They feed on human blood as a source of protein and iron for their eggs. Basically, these
parasites benefit from us and the only thing we get in return is the risk of contracting diseases.
Mosquitoes surely suck, in more ways than one.
#2: Kissing Bug
Whoever came up with the saying, “Goodnight,
don’t let the bed bugs bite!” must have been talking about the kissing bug or vampire bug,
which likes to feed around our lips and all over our face while we’re asleep, hence its name.
Kissing bugs are spreading their unwanted love all over America, Asia,
Africa, and Australia. Their bites can cause itchiness and swollenness. But for
those who have allergies, these bugs pose a serious risk of anaphylactic shock.
Another serious complication from this insect’s Judas kiss
is the Chagas (SHA-gas) disease. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi,
which vampire bugs may acquire after sucking on infected animals. Similar to mosquitoes,
they carry the virus and transmit it to us by pooping on our skin.
Chagas disease may be acute or chronic, but extreme cases may lead to cardiac complications,
heart failure, and cardiac arrest.
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#1: Tsetse Fly
The tsetse fly, also known as tik-tik fly, inhabits much of tropical Africa. Like mosquitoes,
they also feed on blood, and they are known to be transmitters of the parasites which cause
“sleeping sickness.” And it’s definitely not something that can be cured by true love’s kiss!
Symptoms of sleeping sickness usually appear between 1
and 4 weeks after infection. Signs of the early phase include fever, skin lesions,
rash or swollen lymph nodes. This will later progress to inflammation of the brain.
As conditions worsen, the person may feel severe headache, personality change, weight loss,
irritability, progressive confusion, slurred speech, seizures, difficulty in movement,
and terrible sleeping patterns. If left untreated, sleeping sickness could actually lead to death!
Princess Aurora is shaking!
So, which of these incredible insects scared your pants off? Let us know in the comments section!
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And if you’re itching for more treacherous creatures,
then make sure to check out our ranking of the 10 deadliest Animals in the World!
‘Til then, stay alert, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!