In 1983, Dr. Justin Schmidt established the famous "Schmidt Sting Pain Index." This index measures the amount of pain inflicted by the stings of different Hymenoptera (including wasps, bees and ants) on a scale from zero to four.
Dr. Schmidt, from the Southwest Biological Institute in Tucson, Arizona, has been stung over 1,000 times by over 150 species of insects. His scale is subjective and based on the level of pain he perceived as a result of each encounter.
He also provides vivid descriptions for various stings--almost like a wine snob discussing a particular vintage. For example, a bullet ant--one of the few arthropods who has earned the coveted 4.0+ rating on the scale: “Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three inch nail embedded in your heel.” Another high roller at 4.0, the tarantula hawk wasp (pictured above): “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has just been dropped into your bubble bath.” For the lowly sweat bee, who scored only a wussy 1.0 on the scale: "Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. As if a tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm." The paper wasp, a strong contender at 3.0: "Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut."
It is always refreshing to encounter someone who so obviously enjoys his work.
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