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Most poisonous insect

Updated: 10/9/2023
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10y ago

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That is really three questions in one. It could mean which insect has the most venomous sting, which insect has the most dangerous venom but does not sting, or which insect causes the highest mortality rate.

Firstly the most venomous sting insect. In the USA alone 23 people a year die from bee and wasp stings. Usually an insect's sting is quite harmless for humans and only a slight skin reaction occurs, but a few people suffer very severe reactions. When stung, a few people can go into anaphylactic shock and experience difficulty breathing, difficulty in swallowing, a sharp fall in blood pressure, collapse, unconsciousness and even death.

The most dangerous insect in this category is the honey bee, and accounts for as many human deaths as all the species of snake cause put together. However, nearly all of the deaths caused by these insects are due to allergic reactions and not to the venom itself.

The insect that has the most potent venom belongs to the ants in the Pogonomyrmex genus. This tiny little insect can kill a 2kg mammal (such as a rat or a rabbit) with only twelve stings. These ants could kill a human with between 350 to 450 stings, without an allergic reaction taking place. To put this in perspective, to get the same reaction from a honey bee, it would take well over 10,000 stings.

Now for the most venomous insect that does can not sting. These are only dangerous in they are ingested or touched. There are a few caterpillars in this category and two groups of beetle, but the most venomous is the Blister Beetle. There are around 2000 species of blister beetle worldwide, and when they occur in large numbers they can cause a large problem for livestock. The Blister Beetle produces a toxin called Cantharidin, a chemical that cause blistering on the skin and if eaten also inside the intestine tissue. These beetles live in grass and hay, the natural food source for many animals and when they are eaten by these grazers, it can cause them serious harm. A cow or horse need only eat 10 or so beetles accidentally to become seriously ill, and this is likely to kill the animal.

However, the Blister Beetle might be the most toxic, but it is not the insect that causes the most deaths. This title belongs to the Mosquito, but how does it kill with out venom or poison? The Mosquito carries many potentially dangerous diseases and as the move from one person, or animal, to another, they infect the new host with these diseases. The Mosquito with the most infamous reputation is that of the Anopheles genus. In Africa alone this tiny insect kills one child under the age of five every thirty seconds. That totals around 3000 every day and nearly one and half million in a single year. The mosquito is also known for transmitting malaria and this claims the lives of around one to three million people every year. Even if a person survives the first stages of malaria, it is a disease that they will have to battle for the rest of their lives, and will most probably result in death years after the first infection. It is commonly agreed that malaria is one of the top killers in the world, and the main cause of infection results from the tiny mosquito.

So the insect with the most venomous sting is the Honey Bee, the insect with the most toxic venom is the Blister Beetle, although this is only dangerous if eaten, but the insect that causes the most deaths is the common Mosquito.

Just a small edit if talking about the most venomous insect that does not sting, instead of saying the blister beetle I would say the genus Lonomia would be the winner which are a group of moths located in South America, however it is not the fully grown adult moth that is being brought into question but the caterpillar instead. While the LD50 for them has not been tested it is predicted to have the lowest LD50 among all natural Toxins.

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13y ago
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10y ago

That is really three questions in one. It could mean which insect has the most venomous sting, which insect has the most dangerous venom but does not sting, or which insect causes the highest mortality rate.
Firstly the most venomous sting insect. In the USA alone 23 people a year die from bee and wasp stings. Usually an insect's sting is quite harmless for humans and only a slight skin reaction occurs, but a few people suffer very severe reactions. When stung, a few people can go into anaphylactic shock and experience difficulty breathing, difficulty in swallowing, a sharp fall in blood pressure, collapse, unconsciousness and even death.
The most dangerous insect in this category is the honey bee, and accounts for as many human deaths as all the species of snake cause put together. However, nearly all of the deaths caused by these insects are due to allergic reactions and not to the venom itself.
The insect that has the most potent venom belongs to the ants in the Pogonomyrmex genus. This tiny little insect can kill a 2kg mammal (such as a rat or a rabbit) with only twelve stings. These ants could kill a human with between 350 to 450 stings, without an allergic reaction taking place. To put this in perspective, to get the same reaction from a honey bee, it would take well over 10,000 stings.
Now for the most venomous insect that does can not sting. These are only dangerous in they are ingested or touched. There are a few caterpillars in this category and two groups of beetle, but the most venomous is the Blister Beetle. There are around 2000 species of blister beetle worldwide, and when they occur in large numbers they can cause a large problem for livestock. The Blister Beetle produces a toxin called Cantharidin, a chemical that cause blistering on the skin and if eaten also inside the intestine tissue. These beetles live in grass and hay, the natural food source for many animals and when they are eaten by these grazers, it can cause them serious harm. A cow or horse need only eat 10 or so beetles accidentally to become seriously ill, and this is likely to kill the animal.
However, the Blister Beetle might be the most toxic, but it is not the insect that causes the most deaths. This title belongs to the Mosquito, but how does it kill with out venom or poison? The Mosquito carries many potentially dangerous diseases and as the move from one person, or animal, to another, they infect the new host with these diseases. The Mosquito with the most infamous reputation is that of the Anopheles genus. In Africa alone this tiny insect kills one child under the age of five every thirty seconds. That totals around 3000 every day and nearly one and half million in a single year. The mosquito is also known for transmitting malaria and this claims the lives of around one to three million people every year. Even if a person survives the first stages of malaria, it is a disease that they will have to battle for the rest of their lives, and will most probably result in death years after the first infection. It is commonly agreed that malaria is one of the top killers in the world, and the main cause of infection results from the tiny mosquito.
So the insect with the most venomous sting is the Honey Bee, the insect with the most toxic venom is the Blister Beetle, although this is only dangerous if eaten, but the insect that causes the most deaths is the common Mosquito.


Just a small edit if we are talking about the most venomous insect that does not sting, instead of saying the blister beetle I would say the genus Lonomia would be the winner which are a group of moths located in South America, however it is not the fully grown adult moth that is being brought into question but the caterpillar instead. While the LD50 for them has not been tested it is predicted to have the lowest LD50 among all natural Toxins.

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14y ago

The world's most venomous insect is an ant. Not the ant in the photo... those are fire ants, which are poisonous, but don't get the award for 'most venomous insect'. That prize goes to the harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex maricopa). The LD50 for harvester ant venom (in rodents) is 0.12 mg/kg. Compare that to a LD50 of 2.8 mg/kg for a honey bee (Apis mellifera) sting. Now... that's interesting, but the part I liked was that the researchers say that is "equivalent to 12 stings killing a 2 kg (4.4 lb) rat" (University of Florida Book of Insect Records). You have to wonder about that. Did they run out of lab animals and use some wharf rat in the research? Why not just say it takes about 3 stings to kill a one pound rat? Insect venoms are comprised of amino acids, peptides and proteins. They may include alkaloids, terpenes, polysaccharides, biogenic amines (e.g., histamine), and organic acids (e.g., formic acid). Venoms also may contain allergenic proteins, which can trigger a potentially lethal immune response in sensitive individuals. Biting and stinging are separate actions in ants. Some ants bite and do not sting. Some bite and spray venom on the bitten area. Some bite and inject formic acid with a stinger. Harvester and fire ants bite and sting in a two-part process. The ants will grab hold with their mandibles, and then pivot around, repeatedly stinging and injecting venom. The venom includes an alkaloid poison. Fire ant venom includes an alarm pheromone which chemically alerts other ants in the vicinity. Chemical signalling is why the ants all appear to sting at once... that is essentially what they do.

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