Armed with one of the most painful stings on the planet, tarantula hawks are a spider's worst nightmare.
The tarantula hawk is one of the most pain-inflicting insects on the planet. This sting ranks as a 4.0 on the Schmidt Index. The tarantula hawk is in fact a 2 inch long wasp that lives in desert regions of the United States and some other countries. Its name comes from its particular appetite for tarantula blood.
Wasps are far more dangerous than bees. Encyclopedia Britannia explains, “Unlike bees, which can sting only once—the process is ultimately fatal to them—wasps can sting multiple times and buzz merrily away (assuming that they aren't crushed by their outraged victims).”
The Executioner Wasp's sting is believed to be the most painful and venomous in the world. When threatened, the Wasp delivers a potent sting ranked at level four (the highest level) on the Schmidt pain index.
Executioner Wasp
He was stung by it and described it as far worse than the Bullet Ant. Not only was it excruciatingly painful, it burned a hole in his arm – no insect had done that to him before. This wasp is located in Central America and South America.
A sting of a hornet hurts more than a sting of a bee or a wasp. This statement is probably true to anyone who has ever been stung by these insects. All the more surprising is the fact that the sting of a hornet is up to 50 times less toxic than that of a bee. Nevertheless, the sting of the hornet hurts more anyway.
Of all Australia's venomous animals, bees and wasps pose the biggest threat to public health, causing more than twice the number of admissions to hospital as snake bites and the same number of deaths.
The Africanised honey bee is not present in Australia and there are strict quarantine requirements in place to protect the Australian honey bee industry. If you think you have seen the Africanised honey bee, call your local department of agriculture or the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.
Distribution. Worldwide distribution of tarantula hawks includes areas from India to Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, with the genus Pepsis entirely restricted to the New World.
Danger to humans
Cicada-killer wasps are large and have a potentially painful sting.
Summary. Unlike a bee, which can only sting once, the European wasp can sting repeatedly. Around one in 10 people who are stung two or more times become allergic, which means they will experience severe reactions to any subsequent stings.
The largest hornet species in the world, Asian giant hornets are usually between 1 ½ to 2 inches in length. Queens can exceed 2 inches in length while workers are typically between 1.4 and 1.6 inches. They have a wingspan around 3 inches and a stinger measuring about a ¼ inch long.
As if the name weren't intimidating enough, the dementor wasp looks like your regular backyard wasp but with some Halloween-esque black and orange coloring. Like some 174 related species of wasps in the family Ampulicidae, it uses a host incubator—in this case, a cockroach—to gestate its young.
1. Bullet ant. Last but not least, we have the most painful sting of all — the bullet ant sting.
Being solitary, Australian Hornets go about their days on their lonesome. They're BIG at some 3 cm (1.2 in) long but luckily they're not at all aggressive. They've got far too much work to do for them to go around stinging anyone who looks at them funny.
The Sand wasp is native to Australia. The sand wasp is beneficial to the environment as they control spiders, aphids and other pest insects. If the nest is not in a high traffic area or no one in the household is allergic to bees and wasps, they are good to have around.
Varroa destructor is a small mite that attaches to bees and eats their “fat body”. The fat bodies of honey bees are the insect equivalent of a liver. Varroa weakens bees, reduces their lifespan and increases the spread of deadly viruses.
Benefits. Australian spider wasps are beneficial to the environment as they control spider and aphid populations and other pest insects. They are also pollinators of native plants.
Other species of birds seem to enjoy eating wasps and purposely hunt them. These include blackbirds, starlings and magpies. Many species of bats are also insectivores and will create a colony on your property if there is a wasp nest present.
Asian giant hornets are not present in Australia. If you suspect you have found a Asian giant hornet, you must report it: Call the Exotic Plant Pest hotline on 1800 084 881, Submit an online form, OR.
The most painful
Another common introduced stinger in Australia is the European wasp, Vespula germanica. This wasp's sting doesn't get stuck in our skin, so they can inflict multiple stings when annoyed or provoked.
Pain Level 1
Some of the insect stings Schmidt considered to be at a pain level of 1 include the Southern fire ant, the graceful twig ant, the Western paper wasp, the urban digger bee, and most small bees. The duration of the pain of insect stings categorized into Pain Level 1 generally is five minutes or less.
The average person can safely tolerate 10 stings for each pound of body weight. This means that the average adult could withstand more than 1,000 stings, whereas 500 stings could kill a child. However, in a person who is allergic to such stings, one sting can cause death due to an anaphylactic reaction.
Yellow jacket species are smaller than other wasps but more aggressive. They're more likely to sting than other wasps, but their stings hurt less.