The Worst Stings in the US Ranked

[@MyWildBackyard]

What’s the worst sting you’ve ever experienced? Let me know below!

[@ezrakornfeld8436]

Definitely Polistes Carolina… one sting from big red was worse than 20 from Eastern yellow jackets. Fire ants are just really really itchy.

[@Bootisticspazm333]

Once when I was a kid I left my Mountain Dew on the steps outside and went in to use the bathroom and when I came out I went to take a swig and there were a bunch of bees in it and they stung me so I chewed them up and spit them out 😢

[@Beetlelover417]

@@ezrakornfeld8436 isnt that a wasp

[@johnbeard7404]

Brown recluse.

[@joeh2236]

I guess this is the only way to contact you, big web, bright Gatorade orange, silver dollar size, ive only seen it once, central ohio, internet isn't close to it, maybe an escaped critter, the web was massive, that's an understament, neon orange, fat, silver dollar size, not to body shame, beautifully fat, maybe you know? House spiders still rule(favorite)

[@Herbie11]

A stingray got me in the heel a few years back. The stab wound was the size of a hole a butter knife would leave. It went in a good two inches and kept bleeding for 30 minutes. Pain was far worse than any other sting I've ever received. Great video Spencer!

[@MyWildBackyard]

I can’t say I know many people who’ve been tagged by sting rays! I want to eventually do like a full venom tier list with stuff like those and jellyfish as well, kept it to arthropod stings in this one for now. So many crazy things out there though, hopefully I can get them all filmed!

[@williammcleroy558]

That is more of a skewer than a sting! 😂

[@Dabs_4_Dayz]

its a stab wound with some venom on top

[@WiseOwl-007]

Why is the velvet ant sting notable?

[@20PINKluvr]

​@@MyWildBackyardthats how Steve irwin died. Got it right through the chest

[@rococogoth]

Ayy, my adorable velvet ants made the list! I will never forget them chilling out on me while I was visiting a location I had never been to and thinking they were just the cutest, until I looked them up at home and heard about their sting. So glad they're non-aggressive and they are just the cutest.

[@FuzedBox]

I've had two unprovoked velvet ant stings in my life, so I'm not fond of those little sqeaking bastards. They're tough to kill as well because of that thick carapice.

[@rococogoth]

@@FuzedBox I am very sorry that happened to you! D: I personally love them because of how cute they were with me, but I understand not all experiences are universal.

[@williammcleroy558]

They also sing! 😂

[@rococogoth]

@@williammcleroy558 What, do they really?!

[@williammcleroy558]

@@rococogoth LOL! Well, they squeek.

[@bbigaouette]

I got swarmed by a nest of yellow jackets.....each sting was like a gun shot, but they keep on stinging on you. When you run, they follow you. Not a good time. However, I did take revenge on the nest.

[@letsgobrandontrump2024]

Same here I was just cutting the grass and then I found myself getting stung through my jeans and I couldn’t believe it and then I gassed the whole nest and soaked it in water and permethrin and didn’t get stung since

[@williammcleroy558]

Had a nest of them in a box on my front porch all last summer. I only got stung once. They were used to me walking past I guess. It was funny to see them all stop traffic and poke all their little yellow faces out the hole and wait for me to pass then start buzzing in and out again. Was a unique experience for sure! I was certain they'd be a problem but they were very chill and they kept pests away!

[@evilswissy]

if you've never been shot by a gun than how can you compare it to a yellow jacket sting.. seriously.. that's not a question either. you have an intellect, use it

[@katiewhitehead9237]

You can barely even feel a yellow jacket sting

[@thanos8914]

You capping like crazy 😂 it burns a lil bit for like 5 mins and that’s it. Comparing it to a gun shot is top level I’ve never been outside my whole life and experienced real pain behavior

[@NomahLovesYah]

I got stung twice by an Arizona Bark Scorpion that had crawled up my pant leg. When I went to put on my pants, it panicked and hit me twice. I have never been shot but I have to say I imagine that’s what it feels like. Hot, searing, deep pain. I shouted louder than I ever have and my wife thought I was dying. My leg was numb for three days.

[@halvarianknight4477]

Being bitten by hundreds of fire ants wasn't absolutely horrible. but the super tender pimples that formed all over my hands SUCKED

[@editorrbr2107]

I was changing the oil in my truck as spring was coming around, and it had been up for the winter. I blindly reached my hand up to the oil filter and felt a hot trickling sensation and thought it was oil leaking down my arm. Then pure agony. I had shoved my hand into some newly hatched black widows. I had seven bites, my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh, I had problems breathing and had to stay in the hospital for a day. The docs sent me home with a bottle of liquid morphine because there is just absolutely nothing you can do about the pain except sleep it off. Awful. Not as bad a pain as getting bitten in the foot by a giant centipede when I lived in Hawaii, but I’m from the south. I absolutely know better than to put my hands in dark place - so this one is going down as the dumbest and most dangerous.

[@calebadair7240]

Try getting stung by a honey bee on the lip. Felt like I got punched in the face!

[@Hannaholson7]

It only took 2 videos for you to win my subscription. Thanks for the great videos!

[@Hannaholson7]

And OMG blister beedles! These, little fire ants and the scolopendre centipedes were the bane of my existence. Like, the only 3 awful things living in the wild over there lol.

[@theaveri]

The Arizona bark scorpion sting I took in my front yard in northern Arizona was one of the most painful things I've ever felt.

[@MyWildBackyard]

I believe it

[@BellsofNevermore]

Got nailed by one myself, and holy crap. OW.

[@NomahLovesYah]

Same!

[@taradiane]

apologies if you've already made one and i just haven't found it yet, but are you going to make a joro spider vid now that they're here? i'm in ohio, i know they're close to my state. i think closest spotting was west virginia. new sub btw :)

[@MyWildBackyard]

Working on it! They’re not super close to me yet so I’m gathering leads and seeing if there’s other stuff I can target in the area as well! Hopefully I’ll be able to get em soon 🫡

[@TheRockInnRobin]

I saw one last year in my backyard in south GA. They’re so cool looking!

[@dustind4694]

Not sure if the Nephila species we get on the Gulf are the same critters, but they make beautiful webs and seem harmless.

[@Killall12]

@@MyWildBackyard They're all over ATL, you could probably catch them on a layover if you could get to the east Atlanta village. Anyone who flies ends up at HFJ at some point. Edit: Also I know for a fact that the forest protectors working around the old Atlanta prison farm could help you find and film those spiders.

[@FuzedBox]

Don't you live in one of the Carolinas? You're closer than you think. Here in N. GA, they are EVERYWHERE in later Summer through Fall. As wicked as they look (they can have evil Aztec "shaman" like faces on their abdomens), they aggravate me because the displaced all of our native orb weavers and they breed by the hundreds.

[@miyagikot1798]

I know what you mean about wasps. I unknowingly ran over a ground wasps nest with my lawn mower and got swarmed badly once. One got into my shoe and I couldn’t get him out until he stung me a good number of times. It left a scar on my foot for several years. Not fun at all.

[@number4cat1]

I did the same and was able to place the running mower over the nest hole. I just walked away and left the mower running for 30 minutes.

[@maverickmac1797]

Excellent video; excellent education; excellent channel. I thank you very much for you embarking on your interest and teaching the world!

[@steveasher9239]

as a kid, I sat on a flannel moth caterpillar. Over 60 years later, I still remember that well. I was amazed at the grid pattern I saw then and never knew what it was until today. Thanks.

[@PrisPrivate]

Another great video Spencer! It’s great that you emphasize that although many of these stings can be painful, most of them aren’t really a threat to people! And also, out of curiosity, where would European and Bald-Faced Hornets end up on this tier list?

[@MyWildBackyard]

I kinda lumped them in with paper wasps, they’re all part of the same family, just yellowjackets are considerably weaker. Had to make a lot of judgment calls to prevent this one from being like 30 minutes 😂

[@wompton]

great video! Thanks for posting

[@MadDragon75]

Fire ants, Yellow jackets, honey bees... Every 1 of them feel different and none of them are pleasant.

[@T3nch1]

"Have you ever wanted to find out what creature as the absolute worst sting?" I have, and thankfully Cayote Peterson was there to take the hits for me.

[@valkeriejones3818]

I love how you aggressively capitalized VENOMOUS 🤣 just so nobody's confused

[@durendenmp812]

I actually dislike that, but apparently it works, because so many youtubers do it. So if it gets him some more views, I can live with it

[@themantisgarden]

I always enjoy your content, mate. Just the right length to put on whilst I feed as well. Thank you. As for the worst "sting" I've had I would have to say Psytala horrida - Horrid assassin bug, made me sick for hours and hurt like hell 😆Been stung by several scorpions but nothing like these little guys.

[@InTheMindOfDavid]

Wanna know how fed up I am with the US and Politics and the world as whole? I’m “watching-wildlife-about-ants-and-other-creepy-crawlies-and-I-ain’t-talking-about-Joe-Biden-sniffing-little-girls-kinda-creepy-crawlies-either” fed up. That’s how fed up I am.

[@smetlogik]

Bark Scorp. Figured that would be near the top. Not venomous, but having a cholla stuck in your leg ranks high on the pain scale. Especially when pulling out the remaining barbs. Very thorough video, Spencer.

[@MyWildBackyard]

Dunno how this comment evaded me! I was definitely super wary of the chollas when we were hiking over at the Tucson mountains. Suckers were EVERYWHERE.

[@smetlogik]

@@MyWildBackyard I've learned to carry a pair of small pliers just for the chollas.

[@thehandlesticks66]

I live in Florida and actually love paper wasps. They've been remarkably chill in my experience. We had a small satellite nest in our entry way that I considered destroying, but they never seemed upset when we walked by. I'd much rather have a few wasps than mosquitos.

[@allencampbell384]

I've been hit by scorpions before, and a single hit gives me an unmistakable reaction - the burning at the injection site and an almost immediate urge to lose anything I've eaten in the last week. But the asp / flannel moth / wooly moth in the A tier? If I NEVER got popped by one of those again, it'll be too soon. It was almost explosive. Spencer - an amazing job! (As always!) Thanks!

[@johnbeard7404]

Great stuff. Thank you.

[@number4cat1]

Not a sting, but I picked up a Katydid once, thinking it would be like picking up a grasshopper. Katydids bite!

[@MyWildBackyard]

Yeah for that very reason the large predatory katydids scare me more than some snakes

[@ogre589]

Fun fact and this comes from my uncle who is a multi decade old bee keeper, bee venom has a beneficial effect. If you suffer from arthritis or any of its incarnates, bee venom actually helps to reduce the effects or straight up remove it. My uncle is friends with a 70 year old bee keeper who has been doing it for even longer than he has and the guy has no joint pain whatsoever.

[@kitdatkat]

damnn fr? i gotta try thattt

[@ogre589]

@@kitdatkat Theres a treatment facility in Pittsburg that actually does "Bee Venom" therapy.

[@emolie123]

I live in Arizona & once stepped on a scorpion hiding underneath a bath towel. The sting hurt so bad I screamed. After the initial sting, I could feel the venom move up leg. My foot was numb for two days 🫠

[@cynmaloy9536]

We live in North Florida and carpenter ants have decided to share the outside of our house and they don't mind biting us and it smarts.

[@williammcleroy558]

Carpenter ants? I can handle those all day in my state. Never got a bite that even remotely hurt. They are too weak. Perhaps it is some other ant? Edit: After a bit of research I have learned that there are some mean ones out there which spit formic acid when they bite. The ones we have here (Alabama) are pretty docile.

[@LadyWhiteOwl]

getting stung by a cicada wasp was the worst I've had. Ended up going to the ER because it wouldn't quit swelling.

[@Markerface]

So if you never went how big would your arm get?

[@LadyWhiteOwl]

@@Markerface It wasn't my arm, I sat on it, by time I went almost all the way down to my foot was swelled and up to my waist.

[@DaveTexas]

Fun video! I mean fun as far as toxic, painful stings go… It is a really interesting list with a few surprises. I honestly wouldn’t have expected fire ants to rank that low. I guess I’ve never gotten just one fire ant sting, though. Those little dudes seem pretty painful to me. Maybe not honeybee-sting painful, but not too far off. The most painful sings I’ve gotten here in Central Texas definitely come from those little bark scorpions and from paper wasps. Paper wasps are extremely common here and will build nests all around houses. We had a nest that was built overnight right about our front door, and when I went outside that morning I got stung by at least two of them. All for just opening the door and stepping outside - I didn’t do anything to their nest! Of course, after the stings I did something to their nest… They also have a tendency to find their way inside, even though we’ve never figured out how they’re getting in. With all new, very energy efficient windows and doors, there aren’t any gaps anywhere, yet we still find lone paper wasps flying around inside once or twice a month. Not fun to get up in the middle of the night, walk into the bathroom, and get stung by a wasp that was hanging out by the sink. They seem to always be around faucets, probably for the water. We did have a carpenter ant problem some years back. A neighbor who never used her garage door (because her garage was packed with junk) went to open the garage door for the first time in years, and the whole garage door just crumbled as it opened. Carpenter ants had gotten into it and had eaten it away to almost nothing. We found them in the studs in our garage and had to have the garage fumigated. I never knew they were so destructive, being as bad as or even worse than termites. At least they won’t sting!

[@johnh4863]

Got stung by hornets while trimming shrubs on two seperate occasions. Got me in the forehead each time. Probably equivelant to about 3 bee stings at once. That hurt like hell both times. Great videos btw. I am new to the channel and like your content and knowledge of all these different animals and insects. I learn a thing or two from each one I watch. Thank you and be safe.

[@edicius52]

187 comments. Perfect... 🙄 When I was 2 my parents put me in my sand box, i hadnt been in it for a couple weeks, but i got immediately swarmed by fire ants. I was hospitalized 😔 lol. That was in Shelby, NC... but was raised in Hickory. 828 represent! Absolutely love your page. Im giddy from finding ya, dude.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Damn, that sucks! I've gotten swarmed myself but I was a teen so it wasn't that bad, can't imagine how bad that would be a toddler.

[@DesignsbyDonBrown]

Saddle-back caterpillar and yellow jackets are the only things I've been stung by. I definitely learned some lessons from it. I found out as a kid that dead yellow jackets still sting. I learned to watch where I put my hands while picking corn, and I learned not to put my hands in holes. I put my hand down on some leaves while fishing and ended up in a hole with a nest of yellow jackets.

[@nancyf.8185]

Lessons well learned… 😊

[@matthewsmith9640]

Got stung by an Executioner Wasp (Polistes Carnifex) as a child in south Texas. It stung me on the finger tip and paralyzed my entire arm. I've been stung by harvester ants and other paper wasp species, and nothing else compares. The worst pain I have ever felt in my life.

[@MyWildBackyard]

Yep those guys would be up in A Tier but they’re quite rare in the states. When I eventually build the world tier list I’ll be sure to put them high up

[@magglespaffygaming]

Only saw a giant redhead centipede once and I totally handled it. It was giving good vibes and acting chill. Made for a great experience and video. Didn’t think they were that toxic.

[@taradiane]

omg velvet ants are gorgeous, never heard of them before

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

They are interesting, growing up in the desert we see them all the time and they are a very neat little insect. Certainly one you don't want to anger but usually they aren't aggressive.

[@Terp-Titan-bt5dw]

I'd love to see you do a brave wilderness collab with Coyote Peterson

[@MyWildBackyard]

I’d be down! I’m gonna reach out to them soon and see if they wanna do any film trips here in the US

[@rahrah5091]

I have been stung by many of the higher end ( well the lower also) insects you have on your list. The worst sting I got was from a Eastern cicada killer Insect which you did not mention.

[@michellegray7892]

Could you do a list specific to worst social stings? Africanized honey bees definitely have a kill count in the US but then so do wasps, so I would be interested to see who takes top rank for such a list.

[@nicknick493]

nice list, ngl the worst sting ive ever gotten was from a wheel bug. Thought it was just a cool beetle when I first saw it, found out pretty quickly it packed a pretty crazy punch...

[@jiiaga5017]

In college I had an art class, we were supposed to go out to a riverbank and draw/sketch as a class. We sat down, in silence, and 5 minutes in the yellow jackets decided our class needed to end early. They hit me with like 10 to 12 stings. Man I hate those things.

[@blapty]

Wonderful and informative video. I've been watching your channel for a while and I'd like to think you have reduced my considerable arachnophobia in that time. Thank you

[@MyWildBackyard]

Thank you! So glad to be a part of your journey!

[@David-playslotsofgames]

video quality just keeps getting better! super informative as always. keep up the good work man.

[@antonyc.7173]

So, you have a spider bite tier list and an arthropod sting tier list; all that’s missing now is an arthropod bite tier list.

[@videomaniac108]

I make it very simple, just consider everything that crawls, slithers or buzzes around an A tier menace.

[@Saritabanana]

You Gotta blister beetle video!!! I'm heading there now!

[@TheMegatron673]

Yeah have you been bitten by the giant desert centipede?

[@Hannaholson7]

In my head I was thinking "go to Hawaii and get stung by one of their centipedes". It definitely hurt worse than any hornet/wasp/yellow jacket I've ever been stung by. I can't imagine desert centipedes.

[@Hannaholson7]

Damn I made this comment before I hit the giant centipede 😂 which is what I got stung by.

[@TheMegatron673]

@@Hannaholson7 Centipedes don't sting they bite with their front modified legs that are like mandables. But it's no joke.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

I came extremely close once, had one crawl into my pants leg and I didn't realize it until I was driving. Had to kick my boot off then kicked it out of my pants leg, bloody thing was nine inches long and it was pissed! Damn close incident, they creep me out man.

[@hiddentruth1982]

Having been stung by fire ants many times I would compare it to about a honey bee sting. The itch after lasts longer but it isn't painless.

[@jlangevin65]

Hooray - I can stop ranting about Megalopyge. It and the Io moth caterpillar are the most common stinging Lepidoptera here in north central Texas. The Io moth will light you with instant fire but the effects are local and short-lived. The flannel moth is on a a whole 'nother level, as we say in these parts. You can at least expect the radiating pain, and one of my co-workers passed out once after an especially bad sting.

[@MyWildBackyard]

I want to actually do a microscope experiment with asps. The way they deliver venom is unlike anything else- almost similar to stinging plants than animals. I wanna show the spines up close so you can actually see what the sting does when it nails you

[@mark4m557]

I been stung by Honeybees, Bald Faced Hornets, Yellow Jackets, and Red Paper Wasp throughout my life. Those Red Paper Wasp are on a different level to me. I walked near a hot nest at a Shell plant. Those Red Wasp were so aggressive, they were dive bombing me if I got within 30ft of their nest, and they were drawing blood.

[@tysonhogan7710]

I live in AZ and have been stung by the major majority of these bugs and it is absolute hell most have happened while hunting but my god the Tarantula Killer (Starts as Extreme pain then the entire area of the sting and more goes numb but that could also be to the adrenaline I felt but was extremely painful for 15 minutes non the less), Caterpillars (we call then wooly worms and it is like someone set you on fire when touching them), also the Maricopa Harvester Ants were one of the worst stings iv felt (when stung by a harvester ant it is as he described but worse here in AZ those are our fire ants... when stung on the hand like me your arm to your elbow will feel like someone put hot coal on it.), The 2 that I will never come near is the velvet ant or Red head Centipede as they have stories hear of bites where people almost go crazy from while effected and feel like someone is actively stabbing you to death (You can see Coyote Persons experience with both of those monster of our desert and imagine if you were the one stung)

[@TurbineFlyer]

I saw my first tarantula hawk in northern Nevada. I didn't know they went this far north! I have never seen a tarantula in my 34 years of life being raised in northern nevada. But the presence of a wasp indicates tarantula presence.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Same, been all over New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada but I never see a live one in the wild, even night watching I don't see them, but I know they are around. Only wild one I have ever seen was dead, dogs stomped on its abdomen while it was walking and it was literally frozen in place standing there. Weirdest thing, paw print in the splatter and everything it looked like a weird cartoon. I found it in the morning so I guess they spotted it overnight and took a disliking to it. Pretty large too, about four or five inches across. I'm arachnophobic so I try to get exposed to spiders when I can, it helps to treat the irrational fear, so I'm always interested in seeing and learning about local ones.

[@concert610]

Flannel moth caterpillar we always called them Asps. I was stung by one. It was awful. The pain the first few hours was awful. The flu like symptoms that followed the next day. It left a mark on my leg for a long time. I've heard people say it's a lot worst than a cottonmouth snake bite. It's definitely worst than a yellow jacket sting in the lip.

[@thecianinator]

that caterpillar's haircut looks like he's gonna steal my girl

[@ZomBeeNature]

I guess I am surprised the Arizona Bark scorpion is not an S tier sting. Or anything else.

[@valiantwarrior4517]

Thanks for the really interesting video, Master Spencer! I didn’t realize paper wasp stings would be above yellowjacket stings. Maybe because yellowjackets just seem bulkier and more fierce. I notice that bald-faced hornets aren’t on the list. Are their stings not comparable, or is it just that your list just has some examples of each tier?

[@theodoreplume4861]

As always….incredible presentation

[@FatFrankie42]

*_comment for the algorithm gods_* ~ with 💞 & appreciation from Winston Salem, NC

[@MorganBrown]

I made the mistake of sitting on a Harvester Ant nest. Got about 10 stings up me leg. 😂. Felt a bit woozy for maybe a half hour

[@valkeriejones3818]

I've seen tarantula hawks in rocky areas of Arkansas before and they are so beautiful. But if you read Justin Schmidt's description of the pain you'll respect them with a near reverence. Lol

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

As someone who has directly experienced that pain I can vouch for that lol. And once in a lifetime is enough for me.

[@kaidoChess]

Should have way more views tf

[@MyWildBackyard]

Sometimes KZbin is weird 😂 glad you enjoyed!

[@olm8829]

I’m not from the USA, we don’t have any really dangerous insects and arachnids here. That being said, I’ve been stung by a bee, a yellowjacket wasp (twice) and by a jellyfish in Black Sea (multiple times). My worst experience with the insects and other stinging animals was when I accidentally stepped on a big ant nest (I don’t know what art of ants they were, it was like 20 years ago). They didn’t like it, obviously, and I have been stung all over my legs. It was swollen and itched for days.

[@HomeSlice97]

Though non-venomous, a big enough carpenter ant can still give you a surprisingly strong bite (as I found out recently!)

[@cruzjacknife8699]

To my fellow potheads: Get yourself fabulously baked and then challenge yourself to watch this at 0.5x speed and see how far you can get without laughing.

[@cruzjacknife8699]

I failed within 2 seconds. "S T I N G S 👁👄👁"

[@regbs8952]

This guy provides golden examples of what not to do in the field. He is definitely not a safety first kind of guy.

[@Nature_Narratives_with_Dan]

Which venomous sting do you find the most terrifying? I couldn't believe how intense some of these can be! Have you seen my recent video on dangerous encounters in the wild?

[@Bootisticspazm333]

My grandmother used to clean rvs and mobile homes and she was stung by a baby bark scorpion and almost died. She was bedridden for weeks

[@sconnz]

Wow that's crazy, glad she made it!

[@metallica_fan7990]

7:35 I despise Yellowjackets with a burning PASSION! When I was 4 and playing in the playground at my elementary school, one almost bit my eye out!

[@supremeghost7950]

Fascinating, even though I don't live in the US, and none of these aniamls or stings will probably ever hurt me, it was still good to know.

[@splatninja9447]

Fire ants suck. I got swarmed when i was little. I remember when it started, but nothing after that for days. When i say nothing, i mean absolutely nothing. But now if i get stung it becomes a massive welt and i am completely and utterly terrified of them.

[@adampeterson8820]

Got stung in the stomach by a tarantula hawk riding my motorcycle in the California desert. Went under my shirt. I pounded my stomach at 60 mph thinking someone threw a cigarette. Looked around and I was alone. Pulled over quick and found the smashed wasp. It SUCKED.

[@cynthiakoehne7004]

in north Texas back in 1984 I was a campground, and almost every tree had bark scorpions crawling on them, sure glad I did not touch the trees!

[@brandonbrinegar5316]

I've always wondered what Eminem's hair got up to after he went to bed for the night.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

I can personally attest to the nastiness and pain of the Spider Hawk sting. When I was a teenager I got a nasty encounter walking down a dirt road. Don't know why but out of nowhere it sounded like a bloody Huey helicopter in my ear. The dang thing stung me twice right behind my right ear before I even turned my head. I saw this gargantuan wasp, orange wings blurry in flight but orange clearly, and it was coming for another hit, I whacked it with my hand and it came back again so me and my buddy bolted. I couldn't tell you what we did to set it off, honestly just walking down a dirt road to my friends house, but man it took a disliking to me. My grandpa had told me once that if I ever got stung by one to not bother calling anyone or making a fuss, just lie down and scream until its done cause there is nothing for it. Wont end ya but it's gonna hurt like hell for a good long while. I found out first hand he was absolutely right, side of my head swole up and I could do nothing but yell about it for an hour. After that it was fine, had a welt for a couple days and you could see the marks where it hit me, but nothing permanent. Though I absolutely give those things a wide berth and keep an eye on them now. All others I've encountered have been pretty mild and usually fly away from me, but that one just really did not like me that day lol.

[@cynthiakoehne7004]

my uncle's house in San Antonio his back yard was quarantined by the city because of a huge outbreak of fluffy caterpiliars

[@over-educated-sp]

I’ve caught a few Tarantula Hawks. They were flying around my front door light. They sound like a VW Bug that is passing by your head. Spencer, you probably captured a grasshopper in a Mason Jar. Filled it with ants, and had a great time! 🧂🥲😂🫵🤙👊🏼👌🏽👍! Out of sight, out of mind. Sucks I had to FIND you again!

[@MyWildBackyard]

Yeah I don’t know why it’s been so weird, hoping they fix whatever it is!

[@kenr4056]

my dad was hunting in texas and acidently slept on a fire ant nest. didn't go well for him

[@DH-.]

I was near my. Baldy California and I saw an enormous jumping spider it was mostly black with white details. He was like the size of a quarter

[@NickWeissMusic]

I feel like bees hurt and cause more swelling than yellowjackets, but I’ve luckily never been swarmed by either, just single stings. I suppose different people will react differently

[@elitehacker1416]

Ive been stung by yellow jackets many many times and most of the time it's like you said in this video. Not very painful, mainly just the pain of the stinger itself and itching afterwards however last year i got stung in my chest while cutting grass and let me tell you it felt like fire for almost a whole day. Idk what the difference was with that yellow jacket sting than the many others I've had in the past but it really hurt for a long time then itched for about a week afterwards. And yes i know for a fact ot was a yellow jacket cuz i killed it when i smacked it crushing it on my chest, and by the way this isnt the first time ive killed one that way either so I dont know why it hurt so bad this time. Anyone have an explanation. I live in Maryland so we have limited venomous and poisonous creatures

[@number4cat1]

I had a Tarantula Hawk fly in my mouth while biking. It got me on the lip as I was spitting it out. I was familiar with them and when I saw it I was expecting the worst, however the sting faded and was barely noticeable within 20 minutes. Possibly a very small amount of venom was injected. And you left Bumblebees out of this list. They have a Paper Wasp level sting, but aren't aggressive.

[@StAndrew65]

The worst sting I ever got was from a 'yo mama' joke. 🤣😂

[@ZackBurnsOG]

I've always been curious about the Bullet Ant ever since I first learned about them. Like, I am legit curious what it feels like....I know it's not in the US, but I've always been curious.

[@bushhippie7372]

I get fire ant stings all the time. Usually weedeat through a nest and throw them on my legs. Definitely a weird feeling especially if you leave them on and let them go at it for a while.

[@williammcleroy558]

Probably more than 90% of critters that can harm you actually avoid doing so.

[@firehedgehog1446]

I was actually stung on the shin the other day by a Yellow Jacket & it was nowhere near as bad as the way you described it, felt more like a very mild burning to me

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Be glad, spider hawk genuinely sucked.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

All of this makes me feel I'm lucky to live in Sweden. Here we have very few biting or stinging insects, and none of them is really dangerous unless you are allergic to bee or wasp stings. A lot of people doesn't know they are allergic, part of it is that they tend to live in cities where they are very unlikely to be stung by these. Another thing is that the first time you get stung doesn't necessarily trip the allergy, instead it wakes the mechanism in the body that will go ballistic the next time you get stung even if it's years apart. And then the second time you can react really badly to the sting. Another very irritation insect is the gadfly or horse fly we call a broms. I don't think they are particularly poisonous but they are meat eaters and will take a real bite. The really irritating thing is they have very soft wings and you won't hear as they are flying in to land on you. The first thing you usually know is the bite on your back. Frustrating but not really dangerous. Then there's mosquito which is largely harmless. Sure you will feel the swelling after they drink a bit of blood, but that's it. We've got some very small mosquitoes mainly up north. We call then Knott and they are smaller than most ordinary mosquitoes, but there are usually thousands of them and the combined amount of poison they deliver can cause real problems and even death for the animal attacked. In humans it can cause serious inflammation where the swarm has got a lot of stings in. Thing is none of these are really considered dangerous unless you are very unlucky. As for other dangerous animals we have one poisonous snake. It's an adder that is about as dangerous as a wasp and in most cases totally harmless, though it's of course not a good thing to be bitten. Then there's only brown bears and wolves. As far as I can remember there hasn't been a wolf attack on a human in something like 150 years, at least if you don't add in the death in a park where the wolves killed one of their handlers a few years back. As for bears I can't remember hearing about any deaths. Thing is hunters are arguing for increased quota on wolves hunted each year. One of the reasons are that they say they kill their hunting dogs. But at the same time more dogs killed by misfire during hunting has been logged that death by wolves attacking. Wolves might not attack humans but they have a bad rep for attacking cows and sheep, so a lot of farmers really want the wolves exterminated.

[@domvasta]

Wow, I'm glad we don't have any Scolopendra here in Aus, my centiepede's sting was nothing, I would still free handle it.

[@GalacticcGaming]

When I was a child I used to free handle those harvester ants. I never got stung thank goodness. I actually haven’t seen any in my adult years. I remember them being pretty large ants. At least half an inch in length.

[@Darkfire9189]

Paper Wasps dont really sting in my opinion. Unless you flat out attack the nest they're chill and more likely to chase you off.

[@Dev77tv]

Had to knock down a paper wasp nest when I lived in TX about 4 years ago. Only stung by 1, but it got me twice. Not a fun experience at all. Hurt for more like an hour than just a half, but the stings were very close to one another, so that could’ve been a factor. Don’t mess with these guys

[@Shawn-jf2us]

Great video, but you left out the US aquatic creatures that can sting and that very much deserve to be recognized on this list! For example: catfish, jellyfish and cone-snails

[@MyWildBackyard]

Yes- but those are not arthropods

[@Shawn-jf2us]

@@MyWildBackyardTrue, but then you need to change the video title and to be honest arthropods all the time gets a bit monotonous. Some diversity in your videos would be awesome and much appreciated. With that being said keep up the hard work Spencer!

[@chrisgomez860]

When I was 10, my friends and I had made an obstacle course in an abandoned yard next door to my house. I was first up and the first thing to do was hang upside down from a clothes line pole then go from there. I was hanging with my knees but none of us knew there was a wasp nest inside the pole. They immediately started stinging, so I swung down and started running. They chased me until I finally collapsed. My friends got my mom who used a water hose to get them away from me. She got me inside and I had over 60 stings to my legs and back. I was 5 foot tall and 80 pounds so she called the doctor. Thankfully I wasn't allergic but the pain...the only bright side was I didn't have to go to school for the next few days but I swear, 30 years later and my legs ache when there's a wasp nearby. Only childbirth was worse for me so I caution people: they make nests in clothesline poles. Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it! ❤

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Wow, I too have experienced this revelation as a kid, though I was fortunate enough to be able to get into the house before more than a few got me.

[@RequiemOfTheFirst]

Dried lavender is a very effective scorpion deterrent. If you happen to see them inside your home, or around your yard, try putting some of it around window and door seals.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

I'll try that, does it work for other arachnids as well?

[@REB4444]

By far, the Tarantula Hawk! It's on par with the Aussie bullet aunt, as in you feel like you just got shot. Here in San Diego, those things are the size of your hand, and can carry a good sized tarantula back to it's nesting site.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Yup, got stung by one twice and can personally attest to that pain. I steer clear of spider hawks by a wide margin.

[@NoharaLoco-gw8ld]

Ill share a close encounter with a giant centipede. When I was in my early 20s I did some landscaping at my mothers place, high desert and lots of sand around so we used the loader to move a few buckets to the yard and then evened it out with shovels. No big deal, we had done that sort of thing a hundred times before. Well me and my friends piled in the blazer to head back into town and while I'm driving I feel a weird tickling coming up my leg. I got a bad feeling and reached down, sure enough something was moving up my boot and climbing my shin. I pinched it in my jeans and it started to freak out, knew immediately what it was so I pulled over as quickly as I could (no small feat in a manual vehicle while holding a pissed off creature with one hand hunched over. I remember telling my buddies to put it in neutral and that I had a centipede in my pants, they laughed and thought it was a joke as I jumped out and kicked my boot off. Second kick and a nine inch pissed off centipede went flying out and landed on the hood. They believed me then. Centipedes freak me out man and that was one blood chilling moment. Thankfully I think it was just as freaked out as I was and it didn't sting me.

[@goldnbeard_4609]

I live in NW Florida and have been stung by every insect on this list that are local to the region 😂 bad luck I guess. The T Hawk was an exception as it was for personal research. And I agree with you 100% on this list

[@jritechnology]

Toe biter / waterbug is the worst....I hate those things. That proboscis is GNARLEY. Edit: I know it is a "bite" and the saliva comes from the mouth, but it is extremely painful....

[@charliehay1520]

I always thought as a child in Southern Indiana I was stung by a fireant but after this video I see it was a harvester ant Thank you for sharing your knowledge