Getting bite by a fire ant distress . Getting stung by atarantula hawkhurts much , much more . But how much more does it anguish , incisively ? And where does something like a dear bee rank on the infliction scale ?
For decade , answers to questions like these have been found by referencing the Schmidt infliction indicant , a scale first developed and published in 1984 thanks tothe self - sacrificing work of entomologist Justin O. Schmidt . The index seek to rank the pain of lots of Hymenoptera stings across a four - point spectrum . Some of these louse even warrant their own verbal descriptions ; and those descriptions , as you might bear , are pretty bloody awful .
https://gizmodo.com/after-150-different-insect-stings-this-entomologist-be-5836024
A couple points of clarification before we get to these description : Schmidt ’s indicant was last formally update in 1990 . Entomologist May Berenbaum describe it succinctly inthis 2003 issue of American Entomologist :
Schmidt uprise a scale from 0 to 4 , in which 0 was defined as the superstar of being prick by an worm that can not penetrate human skin to 2 , a familiar intermediate pain sensation ( honey bee ) , to 4 , an intensely terrible sting such as that inflicted by Paraponera clavata .
The original scale , however , did not feature the “ improbably precise telephone number ” you see listed below . What ’s more , over the years , many of Schmidt ’s more measured , albeit still graphic , verbal description ( he once compare the pain in the ass of a Pogonomyrmex badius bite to something that “ might be do by someone change state a screw into the soma or rip heftiness and tendons ” ) have given way to the … more colorful description like the ones list below .
Schmidt is quick to cede the decimal point that the shell is obviously subjective , and lack empirical basis — though , as Straight Dope ’s Cecil Adams betoken out : “ if there ’s anyone equip to expatiate on the hunky-dory compass point of pain , a guy who ’s been stung by 150 different species in his lifetime is probably it . ” What surveil is “ Justin O. Schmidt ’s templet to Verminous Hurt , ” and while it was originally written by Outside Magazine ’s Katie Arnold , it was written under Schmidt ’s guidance , so make of that what you will . So without further ado :
Animal : Sweat beeSchmidt Index : 1.0Description : Light , fugacious , almost fruity . A flyspeck spark has singed a single fuzz on your branch .
Animal : Fire antSchmidt Index : 1.2Description : Sharp , sudden , mildly alarming . Like walking across a shag rug and reaching for the promiscuous permutation .
fauna : Bullhorn acacia antSchmidt Index : 1.8Description : A rare , piercing , high-minded variety of pain in the neck . Someone has fired a staple into your impudence .
animate being : Bald - faced hornetSchmidt indicator : 2.0Description : Rich , satisfying , slenderly crunchy . standardized to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door .
Animal : YellowjacketSchmidt Index : 2.0Description : Hot and smoky , almost irreverent . Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue .
brute : Honey bee and European hornetSchmidt Index : 2.0Description : Like a matchhead that flips off and cauterise on your cutis .
Animal : Red harvester antSchmidt Index : 3.0Description : Bold and unrelenting . Somebody is using a drill to dig your ingrown toenail .
brute : newspaper waspSchmidt Index : 3.0Description : Caustic and combustion . Distinctly bitter aftertaste . Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a newspaper cut .
brute : Tarantula hawkSchmidt Index : 4.0Description : Blinding , savage , shockingly electrical . A run hairsbreadth drier has been dropped into your bubble bath .
Animal : smoke antSchmidt Index : 4.0+Description : Pure , vivid , brilliant pain . Like fire - walk over flame wood coal with a 3 - in rusty nail grinding into your blackguard .
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