Post by Anomonyous on Sept 24, 2012 18:39:06 GMT -5
Describe your personal experiences with insect/arthropod stings, and how they correlate with the Schmidt Pain Index. I remember a thread on CF about this.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt_Pain_Index
I had a paper wasp nest on my house, the species pertaining to which I believe to be Polistes exclamans. They are generally placid, but they're said to become aggressive when defending themselves/their nest; also, I've seen multiple accounts in addition to Schmidt's, and apparently they pack one hell of a sting. Described as spilling "hydrocholoric on a paper cut" in the Index; others have said a smoldering iron and a ball made from sea urchin, shark teeth, broken glass, and boiling sugar. The general consensus seems to be that they're quite bad and worse than most other wasps' stings.
What do I say? Well, I never had the misfortune to be stung by one. I did once find a wasp in my room, which I subsequently killed. Looking back at it, I feel rather bad, although attempting to capture and release it probably would've ended with a free, instant trip to a careless science lab, a pair of scissors, and a whole lot of writhing and cursing.
Whole crapload of fire ants around this place. Schmidt's description of those little buggers' stings is quite accurate. There's that initial, frantic pinprick which disappears within a few seconds. After that, a bit of soreness which dissipates after a minute or two. I do recall one particularly nasty sting just a few weeks ago though; the ******* nailed me on the right leg. I remember the duration of the sting's pain was the longest I'd ever experienced, and the site of it grew to a medium sized welt resembling a mosquito bite. Whereas most fire ant stings don't last for more than a day and form no bump at all, this one persisted for more than a week.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt_Pain_Index
I had a paper wasp nest on my house, the species pertaining to which I believe to be Polistes exclamans. They are generally placid, but they're said to become aggressive when defending themselves/their nest; also, I've seen multiple accounts in addition to Schmidt's, and apparently they pack one hell of a sting. Described as spilling "hydrocholoric on a paper cut" in the Index; others have said a smoldering iron and a ball made from sea urchin, shark teeth, broken glass, and boiling sugar. The general consensus seems to be that they're quite bad and worse than most other wasps' stings.
What do I say? Well, I never had the misfortune to be stung by one. I did once find a wasp in my room, which I subsequently killed. Looking back at it, I feel rather bad, although attempting to capture and release it probably would've ended with a free, instant trip to a careless science lab, a pair of scissors, and a whole lot of writhing and cursing.
Whole crapload of fire ants around this place. Schmidt's description of those little buggers' stings is quite accurate. There's that initial, frantic pinprick which disappears within a few seconds. After that, a bit of soreness which dissipates after a minute or two. I do recall one particularly nasty sting just a few weeks ago though; the ******* nailed me on the right leg. I remember the duration of the sting's pain was the longest I'd ever experienced, and the site of it grew to a medium sized welt resembling a mosquito bite. Whereas most fire ant stings don't last for more than a day and form no bump at all, this one persisted for more than a week.