Insect Stings – Severity

velvet ant

Although a velvet ant sting can make you whoop and holler, it is actually less powerful than other common insects.

A researcher in Florida has compared the toxicity of stinging insects. Surprisingly, the worst is a type of harvester ant. Just six of its stings can kill a two-pound mammal.

How do yellow jackets and honeybees compare? They’re twenty five times less toxic. Cows are generally safe around velvet ants (cow killer ants). Their sting is six hundred times less toxic than a harvester ant.

Most Toxic Insect Venom

Ten Most Painful Stings (link courtesy of Robert Reeves)

So if you are stung again this summer, be thankful you don’t live in Texas. They have fire ants, yellowjackets, killer bees, velvet ants AND harvester ants.

velvet ant

velvet ant

paper wasp

paper wasp

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