Did you know there are at least 1 million insect species, and potentially several more we don’t even know about? There are countless insects in the world, too many for any human to ever count!
The majority of insects are not harmful to humans, but a few can be quite dangerous and have earned quite the bad reputation among us- for good reason.
In today’s blog post we’ll share with you 7 of the most dangerous insects in the whole world.
Watch the video version by clicking HERE.
#7 Fire Ants
There are hundreds of subspecies of fire ants. If they get bothered, they will keep stinging the victim over and over.
Their stings are incredibly painful- victims report that it feels quite literally like they’re on fire!
Fire ants will sometimes attack small animals. When the animal is stung enough times it will pass out as a result of the venom from the fire ant.
When a human is stung the skin damage can last for weeks (but usually heals completely). Be careful though- they usually attack in hundreds, so it can be incredibly painful!
#6 Kissing Bug
The name already sounds horrifying! The Kissing Bug literally sucks the blood of vertebrates for survival, and they kill an estimated 12,000 people per year just by spreading disease.
When their victim is sleeping they will crawl up to their bottom lip and bite it in order to suck the victim’s blood.
#5 Giant Japanese Hornet
These are the largest species of hornets, averaging about 2 inches large. While not huge in our world, this is huge in the insect world.
They feed on honeybee larvae. These hornets are so powerful one can kill 40 honeybees in just a minute! You can look on our YouTube page and watch some hornets invade a beehive.
About 40 deaths per year are recorded as a result of Giant Japanese Hornets alone (excluding all other hornets, bees, etc.)!
#4 Tsetse Flies
This is the deadliest biting insect native to Africa. They inject potent toxin on each sting which causes sickness and fatality without proper treatment.
#3 Killer Bee
Killer bees also go by the more popular term “Africanized Honeybee.” They are one of the most dominant & aggressive insect species in the world.
If you upset their hive, they will chase you for up to 1 mile away from the hive and repeatedly sting you. They actively target the eyes & faces of humans to leave a strong message!
Their toxin is generally not dangerous, however receiving several repeated stings is no fun and if stung enough times anyone can get an allergic reaction. In fact, there have been reports of people dying in Arizona as a result of an attack from these bees. While rare, it sounds like a horrifying way to go!
#2 Driver Ants
Driver ants have the largest colony of all insects in the world. There will be as many as 22 million members in one colony!
Like killer bees they are quite aggressive- in fact so aggressive even elephants will run away from their attack. They kill thousands of different animals each year.
They attack small and large animals (or anything) and keep biting/stinging the victim until it dies. Think of it like death from a million paper cuts…
#1 Mosquito
This one is likely to surprise you- their bite does not contain any toxin and they are not inherently aggressive, but mosquitoes are still the deadliest insect in the world!
In fact, they are the deadliest creature of all types of living creature in the world. The reason for this is because they spread disease via blood contact.
WHO estimates that every 30 seconds a child dies due to malaria which is spread primarily through mosquitoes and other insects. Malaria is a blood-transmitted disease which means it can only be transmitted via blood.
Thanks for reading! What did you think?
-Wildlife x Team International