Multiple sightings in Northern Nevada of insect with 'second most painful sting in the world'
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Wed, 08/01/2018 - 11:36am
In Northern Nevada, we're generally used to animals that are anything but cuddly. Rattlesnakes, hawks with razor-sharp talons; even our wild horses bite and kick. But a new addition to the environment has some Nevadans wary.
The Tarantula Hawk is a type of spider wasp that hunts Tarantulas, and uses its painful stinger to paralyze prey so it can lay a single egg in its body after burying it alive. When the egg hatches, the larvae feeds off of the still living prey for three weeks until it emerges as an adult.
So, not very cuddly.
However, they very rarely sting humans, which is a relief. You have to really be invading their personal space, like trying to pick them up or accidentally stepping on them, to receive a sting.
The species found in the Americas can grow to be 2 inches long, making them one of the largest wasp species. The most familiar species have dark blue or black bodies and rust-colored wings.
Historically, they haven't been native to our area, and mostly stayed in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California in North America, but could be found as far North as Logan, Utah. They can also be found as far south as Argentina.
New Mexico, for whatever reason, decided to make the Tarantula Hawk their state insect in 1989.
They've been spotted in Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas as well, but for the most part, they were an absent feature in cooler Northern Nevada until a few years ago.
However, multiple sightings from the public in the deserts across the North speak to a change in the Tarantula Hawk's territory.
People have said they've seen them in Reno, Stagecoach, Silver Springs, Dayton; even in the cooler, high elevation mountain region surrounding Faucherie Lake, Calif.
According to Red Rock Canyon's website, the Tarantula Hawk is mostly docile and interactions with humans aren't common unless someone messes with them or their homes.
In an interview with BBC, Dr. Justin Schmidt who created the Schmidt sting pain index said, “A sting feels like a lightning bolt struck the spot; the pain is beyond imagination. Fortunately, it lasts only about two to three minutes. It rates a four on the pain scale and is unsurpassed in intensity by any other stinging insect.”
He says the pain is only beaten by that caused after a sting from a bullet ant, because that pain lasts between 12-24 hours.
Only females sting, however, since they are the only ones that need to paralyze tarantulas to birth their underground spawn.
Though Tarantula Hawks do have the second most painful sting in the world, they do cut down on the tarantulas in the area, which may become a problem as climate change continues.
In a 2015 article from Wired, the advice if you get stung is to simply lay down on the ground and start screaming. Yes, really.
