"Just lie down and scream" if you get stung by this bug, Experts say

By KwakMin-jung Posted : July 7, 2017, 15:59 Updated : July 7, 2017, 15:59

Female spider wasp or tarantula hawk has an extremely painful stinger. [Courtesy of Pixabay ]


During summer, the most of the insects are active. There are many different types of bugs that you need to avoid: African wasps, yellow jackets, black widows, poisonous caterpillars, and more. There is a more painful encounter that tops these. If you ever get stung by a tarantula hawk, you need to "just lie down and scream", experts say in a peer-reviewed journal.

Apparently, when you get bit by this bug, it is so painful to a point where you cannot even think. This spider wasp earned its name as tarantula hawk because it hunts tarantulas. The females are the ones with the extremely painful stinger but they don't sting often.

Unfortunately, they live on almost every continent, so there is always a chance to encounter them. They were spotted in U.S., Argentina, and other parts of South America. 

According to an interview with Wired Magazine, invertebrate biologist Ben Hutchins of the Texas Parks and Wildlife said, "There are some vivid descriptions of people getting stung by these things and their recommendation - and this was actually in a peer-reviewed journal- was to just lie down and start screaming, because few if any people could maintain verbal and physical coordination after getting stung by one of these things. You're likely to just run off and hurt yourself. So just like down and start screaming."

A person who got stung by a tarantula wrote on Imgur, "Within half a second of being stung, the pain [began], and I dropped straight to the ground and started screaming my head off (I wish I had been recording- it'd make a good Wasted gif, I bet). It was excruciating, all encompassing- I lost the ability to think about anything else but the brutal, blinding pain wracking my body. I honestly thought this thing had killed me. The pain lasted for about 5 minutes (though it felt like eternity). for the duration of which I did nothing but like in the fetal position and scream/ wail/ moan."

Surprisingly a spider wasp's extremely painful sting is not the top on the list of the insects with painful stings. It came second. The first that tops all is the bullet ant from South America. It earned its name because it feels like being shot when you get stung by a bullet ant. 









Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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