Coyote Peterson Lets a Bullet Ant Sting Him

You might remember the name Coyote Peterson, as he is the guy who decided to post a video if a wasp, the tarantula hawk that can allegedly kill a cow, stinging him on Youtube. Well, apparently the pain wasn’t enough for him last time, so now he’s moved on to bigger and much more painful insects – bullet ants. This time Coyote tracked down a bullet ant, which is known for having the most painful sting in the insect world, grabbed it with some forceps and shoved the poor insect’s body down onto his forearm until it was finally angry enough to sting him. So, what was Coyote’s response? Well, it obviously hurt like hell.

This wildlife expert, who clearly has a little too much time on his hands, immediately falls off his seat and onto the ground after removing the stuck bullet ant’s behind from his arm. He does admit that the pain tops that of the tarantula hawk’s sting, which he probably would have already known if he’d read Dr. Justin Schmidt’s pain index of insect stings and bites. According to Dr. Schmidt, a sting from a bullet ant feels like being shot, and the waves of incredible pain can last for over 24 hours. Dr. Schmidt described the pain as feeling like, “huge waves and crescendos of burning pain—a tsunami of pain coming out of my finger. The tsunami would crash as they do on the beach, then recede a little bit, then crash again. It wasn’t just two or three of these waves. It continued for around 12 hours. Crash. Recede. Crash. It was absolutely excruciating.” While Coyote’s lying on the ground writhing in agony, Coyote submits to this ant’s awesome power, telling everyone that it is definitely number one. He didn’t really say much else except for “ow, it hurts” over and over again. I think he might have learned his lesson this time…I hope.

Would you ever let a bullet ant sting you? Have you ever experienced a painful insect bite or sting? Which was the most painful and what did you do about it?