Random Scariest Types of Insects in the World (10 items)

• 

  (#1) Asian giant hornet

  • Vespa mandarinia

  Size: 1.4" in length with a 3" wingspan.

  Location: Temperate and tropical Eastern Asia, including a subspecies in Japan.

  Distinguishing Features: Aside from being incredibly large and angry, their stinger can get up to 0.24" in length.

  Why You Should Be Scared: They don't call these the "Yak-killer Hornet" for nothing. Their sting has been described as feeling "like a hot nail being driven into my leg" and that has a lot to do with its size and the potent venom it packs. Their sting can kill if a person is susceptible to an allergic reaction. In Japan alone, their sting results in between 30 to 40 deaths each year.
• 

  (#2) Botfly

  • Oestridae

  Size: Very small, usually just 0.5 to 3 mm in size.

  Location: Africa, Asia, the Middle East.

  Distinguishing Features: Their most distinguishing feature has to be the fact they lay eggs in the flesh of humans. There are numerous species and subspecies of botfly, but the Human Botfly, Dermatobia Hominis, is the only one that specifically targets humans.

  Why You Should Be Scared: These otherwise adorable little flies have the nasty habit of burrowing into a person's flesh and laying an egg. As the egg develops into a maggot, it ingests the surrounding flesh and tissue, which has resulted in these guys burrowing into people's skulls. Once matured, it emerges from the wound and flies away, but they often leave a severe scar and can result in serious medical complications and even death from infection.
• 

  (#3) Bullet Ant

  Size: 0.7" to 1.2" (18 to 30 mm).

  Location: Nicaragua, Honduras, and Paraguay.

  Distinguishing Features: They are small, black ants with very large mandibles compared to other ants of its size.

  Why You Should Be Scared: Bullet Ants are so named due to their incredibly painful bite, which feels like a bullet. Their sting is ranked to be the most painful of any ant as well as the most painful of all insects. It can cause "waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours." Only one sting will do this, so people who have been bitten multiple times or by more than one Bullet Ant can be completely incapacitated by pain.
• 

  (#4) Platymeris biguttatus

  • Platymeris biguttatus

  Size: 4 to 44 mm.

  Location: Pretty much anywhere people are: Europe, Africa, Asia; North, Central and South America.

  Distinguishing Features: They have a very large curved proboscis, which they use to stab their prey.

  Why You Should Be Scared: If they stab you with their proboscis, it's likely they will inject some of their saliva, which has the ability to liquefy its prey from the inside. This allows the insect to kill and feast on prey much larger than itself. While a sting won't result in your immediate death, it is incredibly painful and can cause severe irritation at the bite site. These bugs are highly aggressive and should be handled with extreme caution... and a baseball bat.
• 

  (#5) Scolopendra gigantea

  • Scolopendra gigantea

  Size: Up to 12" (30 cm).

  Location: South America and the Caribbean.

  Distinguishing Features: They are unusually large for an arthropod and they possess a deadly venom.

  Why You Should Be Scared: Generally speaking, the Amazonian Giant Centipede isn't a danger to humans, but at least one death has been attributed to one. A four-year-old child in Venezuela was bitten by one hiding in a soda can, which resulted in the child's death. They often feed on small birds, lizards, frogs, snakes, and bats, but they would feed on humans if they could... they just aren't large enough... yet.
• 

  (#6) Africanized bee

  Size: No larger than most bee species, but their hive can consist of thousands of individuals.

  Location: South America (They were introduced in Brazil), Central America, and Texas

  Distinguishing Features: Their nasty disposition would have to be their most distinguishing feature. They look like most species of honeybees, but can be identified by the fact that a giant swarm of them are chasing you.

  Why You Should Be Scared: They call these "Killer Bees" due to their unusually aggressive behavior. If you happen to go near their nests, they respond much more defensively than other species of bees and have been known to chase people up to a quarter of a mile from their hives. People succumb to their stings due to the overwhelming number a single colony can afflict. Since they were introduced in the 1950s, they have killed over 1,000 humans and typically kill horses and other large animals who stray too close to their homes.
• 

  (#7) Tsetse fly

  Size: 0.5-1.5 cm, which is very large for a fly.

  Location: Tropical Africa.

  Distinguishing Features: They have a distinctive three-pronged proboscis and are considerably large for flies. They group in large populations, which can result in the spread of infectious diseases.

  Why You Should Be Scared: These large, biting flies are a major concern across sub-Saharan Africa due to their transmission of disease. They feast on large animals by biting them and sucking the blood, which can transfer diseases from one population to another. In humans, they can transmit Human Sleeping Sickness and Animal Trypanosomiasis. They have been known to cause the deaths of whole cattle populations, which have resulted in a subsequent famine. In turn, this causes a large number of deaths in a local human population.
• 

  (#8) Army ant

  Size: A single ant is very small, but the colony can be considered a singular organism given its function. These can spread over large areas and consist of millions of members.

  Location: Africa, though some species in South America have evolved similar traits.

  Distinguishing Features: Unlike other ant species, Army Ants do not nest, but rather create a nest with their living bodies as they travel. This is called a bivouac and it can result in the creation of structures such as bridges and towers.

  Why You Should Be Scared: There are thousands of species of ant on the planet and most of them will cause a mild irritation at a bite-site, but Army Ants are special. When one Army Ant attacks something (or someone), pretty much every other member of the colony joins suit. This can cause an overwhelming number of bites, which can be fatal in a human. Given their colony size can reach millions of individuals, this can be a problem for anything living that gets in their way.
• 

  (#9) Mosquito

  • Culicidae

  Size: Very small, but they can fly for hours, traveling as far as 7.5 miles (12 km) each day.

  Location: Anywhere there is standing water.

  Distinguishing Features: Their abdomen will swell red with blood as they extract it from their victims (you).

  Why You Should Be Scared: We have all been bitten by a mosquito at least once in our lives. Their bites cause an itchy swelling bump, which isn't the worst thing in the world. What makes a mosquito scary is that it is a carrier for some of the worst and deadliest diseases known to mankind, making it the deadliest insect in the world. Mosquitos are carriers for malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile virus, dengue fever, filariasis, Zika virus and other arboviruses. Mosquitos are the deadliest animals in the world when it comes to contact with humans.
• 

  (#10) Saddleback caterpillar

  • Sibine stimulea

  Size: 0.3" to 0.9" (1 to 2 cm).

  Location: Eastern North America.

  Distinguishing Features: The majority of the body is green, but features a white-ringed brown dot in its center. This feature resembles a saddle, which is where it gets its name. 

  Why You Should Be Scared: These guys are pretty neat to look at so people tend to pick them up. Don't ever do this! Their body is covered with urticating hairs, which secrete an irritating venom. This venom causes pain and a swelling rash, but can sometimes lead to nausea. They won't kill you, but you aren't going to have a very good afternoon if you touch one of these.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking