- I know you're shaking your heads right now saying,
"Coyote, wait a minute.
Are you coming out of sting retirement?"
(intense music)
Whew!
I'm Coyote Peterson,
and I'm about to be stung by the cicada killer.
Oh my goodness, that stinger's long.
Here we go.
(film reeling)
(cat yowls) (upbeat music)
(lion roars) (ground rumbling)
(dramatic music)
During the winter of 2020,
the national media erupted with a deafening buzz
that venomously stung an unwarranted fear
into homes across America.
That buzz came from none other than the giant hornet.
Hailing as one of the most painfully toxic stings
in the world,
these nightmarish insects have a nasty reputation
and they were defined as murder hornets by the press.
For anyone that is late to the party,
yes, I have already been stung.
And yes, it hurts a lot.
Absolute searing pain!
As for the invasion, no, we aren't going to be overrun,
stung, and killed by giant hornets.
But some may argue that the invasion has already happened.
That's where I come in.
It's time to set the record straight and more importantly,
it's time to take a misidentified scapegoat
off of the suspect list.
(suspenseful music)
Okay, let's get down to business.
You showed up to see a full grown man experience some pain,
but first, you got to learn a little something
about this incredible insect.
As my mom always used to say,
"You can't have your dessert
until you finish your vegetables."
well, if that's not a terrifying little insect,
I don't know what it is.
Ladies and gentlemen,
let me introduce you to the cicada killer,
one of the largest wasp species in the United States.
This is only second to the tarantula hawk.
Now this wasp is not technically a spider wasp,
like the tarantula hawk.
This is in fact, a sand wasp.
Now similar to the tarantula hawk,
they have a very unique biological cycle.
This one that you're looking at right here is a female.
It is the females that get larger than the males
and the females that are armed with a venomous stinger.
And what the females will do
is search right under the tree tops for cicadas.
They will hone in on their target, move in,
and use that elongated abdomen
to swoop up underneath their prey and then sting it.
They paralyze the cicada similar in the way
that a tarantula hawk paralyzes a spider.
Eventually, the male cicada killers fertilize the egg
that she lays on top of the paralyzed cicada.
The female will physically carry that cicada
in its large mandibles and it's grappling-hook-like legs
back to its underground burrow.
These burrows can be up to 20 inches in length
and they have multiple tunnels.
At the end of each one of these tunnels,
the female will place the paralyzed cicada.
Once that egg hatches, it turns into a pupa
and begins to feast upon that paralyzed insect
until it grows large enough to build a cocoon.
And then once it hatches out of that cocoon the next season,
another cicada killer comes up from under the ground.
If that's not a true war story, I don't know what is.
This is a very large wasp and the easiest way
to identify it are those large amber-colored wings.
When this creature is at rest, like it is right now,
the wings have a very triangular shaped then,
very different looking from hornets or a spider wasp.
You'll see there, when she curls her wings back,
it looks a little more concave, similar to a giant hornet,
which makes it really easy to misidentify this species
as that foreign invader.
And when you look at the front of the insect,
it has enormous eyes.
These wasps have incredible eyesight.
They're primarily diurnal
and you'll see them very active on overcast, cloudy days.
Again, they're using their senses
to find the cicadas up in the tree,
target in on their prey, and then they will make a move.
Now that thorax is rather sizeable, very robust,
but it's the abdomen that is the most unique.
That black and yellow coloration tells you
that this creature is venomous.
Aposematic means "Leave me alone.
I am not something you want to be stung by."
Now, when it comes to the demeanor of this wasp,
to be honest, they're rather docile
and very seldomly will they ever interact with humans.
In fact, the only time you stand the chance
of being stung by this insect
is if you were to step on top of its burrow
and were to come up from underneath you and try to escape.
It would maybe sting your bare foot
if you were blocking its escape way.
Other than that, this is not a bug
that is ever gonna go out of its way
to try to interact with humans.
Now during the summertime,
you will oftentimes see clusters of the males,
battling it out up in the air.
But other than that,
these are considered solitary sand wasps.
And no matter how you break it down, guys,
to be honest, this is one very intimidating insect,
which makes it very clear
as to why people are afraid of this wasp.
Wow, seeing it buzz around inside that capsule
brings a number of flashbacks:
the warrior wasp, the tarantula hawk, the executioner wasp,
and certainly, the Japanese giant hornets.
But there is a very good reason
as to why I'm going to be stung by this wasp today.
No, I'm not technically coming back out of sting retirement.
This is going to be a one and only because right now,
this insect has a very negative reputation
by people misidentifying it for the giant hornet.
They're panicking and they're aiming to kill this species
but it is not something that we need to be afraid of.
So by getting this up close for the cameras
and by taking a sting, I can show you guys
that that's thing is not really that potent.
Remember, it only ranks as a 2
on the insect sting pain index.
Now that stinger is of course, a modified ovipositor,
which is used for depositing eggs.
And while it is laced with venom,
the venom of this species is not necessarily that potent.
However, I do not know how my body is going to react
to the sting, so we certainly have an Epinephrine Pen on set
just in case my body has an allergic reaction.
But if you guys are ready,
I think it is time to transfer the cicada killer
from the capsule into the net.
Let's get in the forceps and get me stung.
This is the most delicate part,
so I've got to really stay focused
and make sure to get a clean, secure hold, just...
(intense music)
Whew! Just like that, we almost lost it.
Man, that is a very, very, very powerful,
very powerful wasp.
Ooh, buddy. (gentle music)
Okay, let me try this again.
I mean, you have to think about it.
This thing is capable of carrying a cicada
that can weigh more than it does.
It is a very, very powerful wasp.
(Coyote grunting)
I also have to be very delicate and very gentle.
I don't want to damage the insect's wings
in any way whatsoever.
She's got all these little hairs on her
which makes her very slippery.
That's where I'm struggling.
I need to get it right.
Right like that.
(suspenseful music)
Good girl.
I got a good hold, I gotta go with it now.
You guys in position?
Whew!
Okay, hands shaking.
I'm Coyote Peterson,
and I'm about to be stung by the cicada killer.
Oh my goodness, that stinger's long.
Here we go.
One,
two,
whew, three.
(intense music)
Ah! Oh, it got away.
Ah, ooh!
Whew!
I lost it.
It's the first time I've ever lost one.
I must be rusty.
(Coyote groaning)
Get me more than once, too.
Whoo!
Were you able to see that?
Were you able to see the sting?
- [Mario] I think so.
- Come and take, right there.
Whew!
Long stinger. Oh yeah, it's throbbing.
Whew!
Wow!
Whew, okay.
Really not that bad.
Really not that bad at all.
It got me there and there.
(Coyote gasping)
Ooh yeah, okay. Okay, here we go.
Second rush of pain, second rush of pain.
Nowhere near a velvet ant or tarantula hawk.
Nothing close to bullet ants or some of those larger wasps.
Wow, for such a long stinger.
Very intimidating,
really not that painful.
It got good sings, oh yeah,
skin is definitely tightening up.
(light music)
Common paper wasp at the most,
not even on par with a honeybee.
Not even on par with a honeybee, I can't believe it.
My first miss on the capsule.
Well, it's certainly back into the wild at this point.
Without question, the strongest insect
I have ever worked with in one of these sting scenarios.
Now here's my theory.
For a spider wasp like the tarantula hawk,
to go up against something like a tarantula.
That's an aggressive predator onto its own with big fangs,
so sting and your venom has to be insanely potent.
I don't feel any sense of paralysis in my arm.
When it comes to a wasp like the cicada killer,
when you're going to get this cicada
with no stinging or biting parts,
I could see why your sting doesn't need to be so potent.
Now a couple of minutes have gone by,
and if you come over here and you zoom in on my arm, Mario,
you can see something funky is happening on my forearm.
Look at that welt.
I thought I only got stung twice,
but I'm seeing swelling here
and radiating out now into my forearm.
Now I do feel burning after the fact,
but nothing more than a common wasp sting.
There is an initial jolt, sort of like an electrical shock,
and I was anticipating the paralysis of the tarantula hawk,
but that pain went (squeals),
and then it just kind of died off.
Wow!
How would that leads me to conclude
is that while this may be a very intimidating wasp,
that is going to be confused for the giant hornet,
it is definitely not something we need to be afraid of.
I would say that the sting is no more
than a 2 on the insect sting pain index.
And even 10-year-old Coyote
could have likely taken a sting from this creature
and gone right on into swamps catching turtles.
Now, when it comes to seeing one of these wasps this summer,
if you come across it in your backyard,
remember, this is not a creature that is out to get you.
They want nothing to do with humans.
And unless you're a cicada,
you have absolutely nothing to fear.
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Whew!
That was a good one.
(light music)
The science of stings will always have a special place
in my heart.
And the painfully entertaining experiences
we have caught on camera have brought
to the spotlight a collection of creepy creatures
that have never been so celebrated.
Giant hornets are not going to invade America.
And hopefully, this up-close look at the cicada killer,
despite its menacing design and impressive size,
has helped alleviate some of your concerns.
In an absolute worst case scenario, if you are stung,
it's not nearly as bad as their appearance
would lead you to believe.
Remember, they kill cicadas, not humans.
And if there's one thing I hope you walk away with,
it's that these wasps are noticeably docile
unless trifled with.
Leave them alone and let them live.
So that's it. One last sting.
I'm headed back into retirement,
where I plan to enjoy a long relaxing career
of making more animal adventure content.
Although there might be some pretty extreme stuff coming up.
I didn't say anything about retiring from bites.
(dramatic music) (Coyote screaming)
Ah! Ah!
(Coyote gasping)
Hey, Coyote Pack, if you love our bite and sting content,
and want to learn more,
make sure to check out our bestselling book,
"The King of Sting" and be one of the first
to pickup my newest memoir, "The Beast of Bites."
To catch your copies,
click on the link in the video description below.
And don't forget, join memberships
so you can brave alongside me and the crew
on our next wild adventure.
(wolf howling) (birds twittering)