Welcome to It Hurts!
欢迎来到好疼呀!
One of these creatures is thought to possess the world’s most painful insect sting. If you were to guess, would it be: the ant that forages in rainforest canopies? The bee that protects a hive of delectable honey? Or the wasp that paralyzes tarantulas? Let’s find out!
其中的一个昆虫好像有 世界上最疼的叮咬。 要是要猜,你会猜是: 雨林的蚂蚁? 保护自己美味蜂蜜的蜜蜂? 还是猜瘫痪狼蛛的黄蜂? 让我们看看吧!
Ant, bee, and wasp venoms contain a variable cocktail of compounds designed to incite unsavory sensations and even compromise bodily functions. Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt’s sting pain index describes and ranks the pain of around 100 kinds of insect stings. One of our three competitors claims the nastiest one.
蚂蚁、蜜蜂,和黄蜂的毒液 有各种各样的化合物, 会造成不痛快的感觉, 甚至还损害身体的机能。 昆虫学家 Justin O. Schmidt 的 疼痛指数 描述和排列差不多一百种 昆虫叮咬的疼痛。 三者之一有最疼的刺。
First, let’s consider the Western honeybee’s sting, Schmidt says it’s like “a flaming match head has landed on your arm and is quenched first with lye and then sulfuric acid.” This discomfort is accomplished with venom that’s packed with a pain-causing peptide called “melittin” and flesh-softening enzymes that disperse the venom. These enzymes may also cause allergic reactions and even lead to fluid buildup in the lungs. Because worker honeybees have barbed stingers that burrow into certain victims, they usually can't sting without leaving part of their bodies behind, which ultimately kills them. Since only the queen bee has the ability to reproduce, a worker bee’s self-sacrifice helps ensure that the colony— and their genes— will prevail. But before they go, they release an alarm pheromone that activates a mass attack and often targets some of the most vulnerable sites on their victim’s body.
首先,让我们看一下西方蜜蜂的刺, Schmidt 说就像 “正在燃烧的 火柴头掉到你的胳膊上, 先灌满碱液,然后硫酸。“ 痛楚伴随着毒液, 名为“梅利疼”, 是一种会造成疼痛的肽, 还有会分散毒液的肉軟化酶。 这些酶还能造成过敏反应, 甚至导致肺部积液。 因为蜜蜂有能够钻进身体的毒刺, 叮咬后必然会留下其身体的一部分, 最终造成它们死亡。 因为只有女王蜂可以繁殖, 一只工蜂的自我牺牲能确保 群体和基因获胜。 但是它们死去之前 会释放发动攻击的劲爆信息素, 通常针对受害者身上最脆弱的地方。
The tarantula hawk wasp sting is, as Schmidt says, “blinding, fierce, shockingly electric ... A bolt out of the heavens. Lie down and scream.” The sensation might last just 5 agonizing minutes for humans, but it leaves tarantulas— the wasp’s preferred target— permanently paralyzed. After the wasp stings a tarantula, aiming for a crucial bundle of nerves, it lays an egg on the immobilized spider. Once hatched, the wasp’s larva spends its formative days in the bountiful environment of the tarantula’s body— devouring it alive. Aside from paralyzing the tarantula, the wasp’s sting doesn’t seem to do further harm. This functions to preserve the spider as fresh meat for the wasp’s offspring.
Schmidt 说被狼蛛鹰黄蜂刺 “会致盲,极为剧烈,就被电击, 天上打下来的电击, 会倒地惨叫。“ 刺在人身上, 可能会惨痛地持续5分钟, 但如果叮在黄蜂最喜爱的目标—— 狼蛛——的身上,狼蛛会永远瘫痪。 黄蜂叮狼蛛会瞄准关键的神经束, 在瘫痪的蜘蛛上下蛋。 孵化后,黄鹰的幼虫在成长期 有蜘蛛身体提供的丰富营养, 生吃活蛛。 除了瘫痪狼蛛之外, 黄蜂的刺看似没有什么其他的伤害。 功用是为蜂的后代提供生鲜肉食。
The rainforest-dwelling bullet ant’s sting yields
住在雨林的子弹蚁的刺会造成
“pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over a flaming bed of charcoal with a 3-inch nail embedded in your heel,” according to Schmidt. And this torture often lasts more than 12 hours. A neurotoxic peptide called poneratoxin that our bodies struggle to degrade is what makes the pain last so long. In addition to agony, poneratoxin can induce trembling, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, and even an abnormal heartbeat.
“纯、激烈,和绝妙的疼痛。 像走在燃烧的木炭堆上, 脚跟还踩着3寸的钉子“ Schmidt 说。 这种这么经常会持续超过12个小时。 我们的身体很难降解 一种叫红霉素的神经毒素 是造成持久疼痛的原因。 除了痛苦之外,红霉素 还会造成发抖、冒冷汗、 恶心、呕吐,还有心跳异常。
The bullet ant is, in fact, crowned with the most painful insect sting. It's thought that they may have evolved such an excruciating defense because they forage in rainforest canopies loaded with predators looking for proteinaceous snacks. They can’t simply jump or fly away, so perhaps they’re better off with this reliable, rather off-putting weapon. The tarantula hawk wasp’s formidable sting clocks in as the second most painful on the scale. And it’s likely the reason this wasp has no known predators. Honeybee stings are in the middle of the pain scale. But when many sting simultaneously, what might’ve felt manageable at first becomes all the more dangerous. In fact, insect stings helped enable the evolution of complex colonies that would otherwise represent an easy feast to predators.
子弹蚁蛰伤其实最让人疼痛的。 人们认为它们进化 如此疼痛的防备,有可能是因为 它们活在藏满了捕食者的环境下, 那些捕食者都在找有营养的零食。 它们不能简简单单地跳走或飞走, 所以还不如有这种靠谱、勿近的武器。 狼蛛鹰黄蜂强大的刺 让它排在疼痛量表的第二名。 这个原因很可能是 它没有已知捕食者的原因。 蜜蜂刺在疼痛量表中排名在中间。 但是许多蜜蜂同时叮的时候, 原可忍受的疼痛 就突然变得更危险了。 其实,昆虫的叮咬起到了 发展复杂的群体的作用, 要不然,这些群体就容易被捕食了。
Some stinging insects are, of course, more aggressive than others, but most of the time, they only sting us when we provoke them. The truth hurts.
当然,有些带刺的昆虫 比其它的更具侵略性, 但通常只在我们激怒它们时 才叮咬我们。 真相很伤人。