Pain Index - Insect Bites
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Schmidt Sting Pain Index or the Justin O. Schmidt Pain Index is a pain scale grading the relative pain made by different insect stings. It is chiefly the work of Justin O. Schmidt, a bugologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center. Schmidt has brought out a number of papers on the subject and lays claim to have been stung by the bulk of stinging wasps, ants, ichneumons, sawflies, gall wasps, etc.- Pain Index 1.0 - Sweat bee: Light, short-lived, almost fruity. A tiny spark has seared a single hair on your arm.
- Pain Index 1.2 - Fire ant: Sharp, abrupt, mildly alarming. As if walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.
- Pain Index 1.8 - Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, advanced sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your face.
- Pain Index 2.0 - Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crisp. Similar to getting your hand squeezed in a revolving door.
- Pain Index 2.0 - Yellowjacket: Hot and smoking, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields blowing out a cigar on your tongue.
- Pain Index 2.x - Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns up on your skin.
- Pain Index 3.0 - Red harvester ant: Bold and unforgiving. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrowing toenail.
- Pain Index 3.0 - Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter afterimage. Like running out a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.
- Pain Index 4.0 - Tarantula hawk: Blinding, ferocious, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped down into your bubble bath.
- Pain Index 4.0+ - Bullet ant: Pure, acute, bright pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.
Posted byParvez Ahmed at 4:05 AM
Labels: animals, offbeat, others, science
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Which insect bite according to you is the most painful?
it says bullet ant