The Schmidt insect sting pain index | Hacker News Reader

The Schmidt insect sting pain index

en.wikipedia.org

15 pointsa5withtrrs8 comments

> Schmidt has published a number of papers on the subject, and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging Hymenoptera [a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described.]

I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to get stung, on purpose, by a majority (!!!) of stinging sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants out of 150,000+ known species. Talk about willing to make sacrifices for science!

Don't look up coyote Peterson on YouTube

It takes animals a while to figure out that something painful that doesn't cause tissue damage is safe.

It's always amazed me that a big draft horse is terrified of an electric fence that gives a tiny zap. (Although when I touched the fence when my feet were underwater I realized it must hurt more if they are better grounded.)

The effectiveness of an electric fence is entirely about intimidation and if an animal is motivated to get out it may eventually find a moment of pain is worth a few minutes of freedom.

> Feeling only slight pain, Schmidt has described the sting of a digger bee, categorized into Pain Level 1, as "almost pleasant, a lover just bit your earlobe a little too hard."

Amazing

> Schmidt also rates the sting of the warrior wasp as a 4, describing it as "Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?", saying the pain lasts up to two hours.

Pain poetry. Does this caliber of natural researchers still exist?

Where do toebiters come in?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belostomatidae

Apparently they have one of the most “excruciatingly painful” bites. But I guess does that not count as a “sting”?

The Brave Wilderness Channel in YouTube has some of these insect stings tested out in case you think seeing pain is interesting.

Negative childhood experiences with paper wasps left me with a healthy fear of insect stings, but after watching these videos I'm surprised to see just how much work it takes to get the insect to actually deliver a sting.

I mean, many of these videos start with him handling the insect, allowing it to crawl on him, and quickly devolve into "holding it against his body with forceps".

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