Schmidt sting pain index

The Schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt (born 1947), 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. The Schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt (born 1947), 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. His original paper in 1983 was a way to systematize and compare the hemolytic 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. Synoeca septentrionalis, along with other wasps in the genus Synoeca, bullet ants and tarantula hawks were the only species to attain this ranking. 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. An entry in The Straight Dope reported that 'implausibly exact numbers' which do not appear in any of Schmidt’s published scientific papers were 'wheedled out of him' by Outside magazine for an article it published in 1996. In September 2015, Schmidt was co-awarded the Ig Nobel Physiology and Entomology prize with Michael Smith, for their Hymenoptera research. Schmidt's pain scale of Hymenopteran stings is organized into levels, ranging between 1 and 4, with 4 being the most painful. However, insect stings that feel very different can be put into the same level. Thus, Schmidt always includes a brief description of his experience being stung by each type of insect. On that note, these stings are based on Schmidt's subjective perspective, and insect stings can vary person to person, so the scale is not universal. Some of the insect stings Schmidt considers to be at a pain level of 1 include the Southern fire ant, the elongate twig ant, the Western paper wasp, the white-faced bee, and most small bees. The duration of the pain of insect stings categorized into Pain Level 1 generally is five minutes or less. Since many small bees are categorized into a pain level of 1, most toxic polypeptides in bee venom are melittin, apamin, and MCD peptide. Melittin is the main toxin of bee venom, and it damages red blood cells and white blood cells. Apamin is a neurotoxin that augments polysynaptic reflexes. MCD peptide destroys mast cells. Feeling only slight pain, Schmidt has described the sting of the white-faced bee, categorized into Pain Level 1, as 'almost pleasant, a lover just bit your earlobe a little too hard.' Also rated into Pain Level 1, Schmidt has described the sting of the sweat bee as 'light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.'