Schmidt Sting Pain Index - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index (a.k.a. the Justin O. Schmidt Pain Index) is a pain scale

Pain scale

A pain scale measures a patient's pain intensity or other features. Pain scales are based on self-report, observational , or physiological data. Self-report is considered primary and should be obtained if possible. Pain scales are available for neonates, infants, children, adolescents, adults,...

rating the relative pain

Pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...

caused by different Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...

n stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt

Justin O. Schmidt

Justin Orvel Schmidt is an American entomologist, co-author of Insect Defenses: Adaptive Mechanisms and Strategies of Prey and Predators and creator of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index...

, an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona. Schmidt has published a number of papers on the subject and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

.

His original paper in 1984 was an attempt to systematize and compare the hemolytic

Hemolysis

Hemolysis —from the Greek meaning "blood" and meaning a "loosing", "setting free" or "releasing"—is the rupturing of erythrocytes and the release of their contents into surrounding fluid...

properties of insect venoms. The index contained in the paper started from 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressed through 2, a familiar pain such as a common bee or wasp sting, and finished at 4 for the most painful stings. In the conclusion, some descriptions of the most painful examples were given, e.g.: "Paraponera clavata stings induced immediate, excruciating pain and numbness to pencil-point pressure, as well as trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part."

Subsequently, Schmidt has refined his scale, culminating in a paper published in 1990 which classifies the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera. Schmidt described some of the experiences in vivid detail.

Schmidt Sting Pain Index
Index	Animal	Description
1.0	Sweat bee Sweat bee Sweat bee is the common name for any bees that are attracted to the salt in human sweat. In its strict application, the name refers to members of the Halictidae, a large family of bees that are common in most of the world except Australia and Southeast Asia, where they are only a minor faunistic...	Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.
1.2	Fire ant Fire ant Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 285 species worldwide. They have several common names, including ginger ants, tropical fire ants and red ants.- Appearance :...	Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet Shag (fabric) A shag is a rug or carpet that has a deep pile, giving it a shaggy appearance. Shag carpeting is sometimes evoked as an example of the esthetic from the culture of the 1970s in the United States.... and reaching for the light switch Electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge is a serious issue in solid state electronics, such as integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are made from semiconductor materials such as silicon and insulating materials such as silicon dioxide... .
1.8	Bullhorn acacia ant	A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.
2.0	Bald-faced hornet Bald-faced hornet Dolichovespula maculata is a North American insect commonly called the bald-faced hornet...	Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door Revolving door A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they prevent drafts, thus preventing increases in the heating or cooling required for the building... .
2.0	Yellowjacket Yellowjacket Yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries...	Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer... extinguishing a cigar Cigar A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern... on your tongue Tongue The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly... .
2.x	Honey bee Honey bee Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis... and European hornet European hornet The European hornet Vespa crabro, commonly known simply as the "hornet", is the largest European eusocial wasp. The queen measures 25 to 50 mm long; males and workers are smaller...	Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.
3.0	Red harvester ant Red harvester ant The red harvester ant is a large ant common in the southwest United States.- Description :The main food source for red harvester ants usually consists of seeds, which they hoard in great numbers, hence their name.As with most ant species, their mating castes consist of winged alates that reside...	Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail Ingrown nail Onychocryptosis , also known as an ingrown toenail, or unguis incarnatus is a common form of nail disease. It is an often painful condition in which the nail grows so that it cuts into one or both sides of the paronychium or nail bed... .
3.0	Paper wasp Paper wasp Paper wasps are -long wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct water-resistant nests made of gray or brown papery material...	Caustic and burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker Beaker (glassware) A beaker is a simple container for stirring, mixing and heating liquids commonly used in many laboratories. Beakers are generally cylindrical in shape, with a flat bottom. Most also have a small spout to aid pouring as shown in the picture... of hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid.... on a paper cut Paper cut A paper cut occurs when a piece of paper or other thin, sharp material slices a person's skin.Paper cuts, though named from paper, can also be caused by other thin, stiff materials, such as aluminium foil, knives, and thin blades of grass.... .
4.0	Tarantula hawk Tarantula hawk A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp which hunts tarantulas as food for its larvae. Tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis in the family Pompilidae ....	Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.
4.0+	Bullet ant	Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking Fire-walking Firewalking is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot embers or stones.Firewalking has been practiced by many people and cultures in all parts of the world, with the earliest known reference dating back to Iron Age India – c. 1200 BC... over flaming charcoal Charcoal Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen... with a 3-inch rust Rust Rust is a general term for a series of iron oxides. In colloquial usage, the term is applied to red oxides, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture... y nail Nail (engineering) In woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped, sharp object of hard metal or alloy used as a fastener. Formerly wrought iron, today's nails are typically made of steel, often dipped or coated to prevent corrosion in harsh conditions or improve adhesion... in your heel.

See also