Dr. Justin O. Schmidt likes insects of the persuasive sort, the ones that bite, sting or
squirt venom in your eyes. In the course of his entomological studies all over the world,
he has met the defenses of about 150 different insects, and he has rated them, creating the
Schmidt Sting Pain Index. On the low end: sweat bees, whose sting is "light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm." On the high end: Bullet ants, whose venomous bites cause "pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel." And it can last for hours, leaving you "quivering and still screaming from these peristaltic waves" [of pain].
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Aug 4, 2011 -
49 comments
An "
order of magnitude older than the dinosaurs," even older than clams, bugs, vertebrates, are
jellyfish. At almost 600 million years old, jellyfish are some of the oldest animals on the earth that have survived the test of time.
Dr. Lisa-ann Gershwin, (yes, of that
Gershwin family) is a
scientist studying
jellyfish in Queensland, Australia and was recently
interviewed by the ABC. I was particularly disturbed by her gripping description of the tiny
Irukandji jellyfish and how the venom
affects humans. This summer,
swim at your own risk.
posted by gen
on Jun 13, 2007 -
27 comments
