Most Dangerous Insects in the World — The Deadliest Venom

Before discussing the most dangerous insects, firstly have a brief look at the physiology and etymology of the insects. Insects are small invertebrate animals that are more or less segmented. Insects have six legs and a body consisting of three parts which are the head, thorax, and abdomen, and typically have one or two pairs of wings.

List of Most Dangerous Insects

The word “insect” comes from the Latin word “insect”. The meaning of which is “divided body” or “with a notched”, or literally “cut into”, because insects appear to be cut into three sections. We have in our mind that the most hazardous species are animals but many dangerous insects are listed that can cause many lethal diseases. Even death occurs, without proper treatment of wild insect bites. Here is the Top List of The Most Dangerous Insects in the World.

1. Giant Japanese Hornet

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The largest species of hornet in the world is the Giant Japanese hornet. It is also known as the “Giant Sparrow Bee”. Most of these hornets inhabit the rural areas of Japan. In Japanese Islands, it is referred to as rural. It is a large insect. The length of the adult insect is 4.5 centimeters. It has a large yellow head with large eyes, a dark brown thorax, and an abdomen banded in brown and yellow. On the top of the head between two large compound eyes, three small simple eyes are present.

They feed on a wide range of insects, including the crop of pests, and honey bee larvae.  Sparrow Bee can finish 40 honey bees in a minute. They feed on the most nutrient-rich body parts such as flight muscles. Each colony of hornets consists of 700 members.

2. Venom — Deadly String of Giant Hornet

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Japanese hornets are very aggressive and fearless. The sting of the hornet is lethal, not due to the allergic reactions but also due to its many toxins. The venom injects from a 6 mm long stringer. The pain-causing chemical is found in the venom of its sting which is Acetylcholine. The venom injects from the sting has an enzyme that dissolves the tissues. The repeated stinging from the dangerous Hornets could cause death. The venom can be detrimental to your red blood cells causing kidney failure and death.  Every year from 30 to 40 deaths is recorded by the sting of this hornet.  As the venom of the Giant Hornet is lethal, thus these are the most dangerous insects. The Giant Hornets attract alcohol, sweet flavors, and human sweat.

3. Tsetse Flies

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The most dangerous biting insect is the Tsetse fly. It is native to Africa. The tsetse fly is just like the common housefly. Like other insects, it has a body consisting of three parts. The head has large eyes. The thorax is large, consisting of three fused segments and also three pairs of legs attach to it. The abdomen is short. Two pairs of wings are present on the body.

There are some characters through which one can distinguish the Tsetse fly from a house fly.

Characteristics
  • It has a long proboscis, which extends directly forward.
  • It can fold its wings on each other.
  • Its wings have a Hatchet cell.
  • The antenna has hair on it.

4. Trypanosome — Injected by Tsetse Flies

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They mainly feed on the blood of vertebrates resulting in the body slowly being destroyed by a parasite.  This insect carries the parasite in the flesh. The tsetse fly is the biological vector of trypanosomes, which is the cause of infectious diseases in humans. The disease caused by the tsetse fly is a sleeping sickness in which the shutting of some body parts. This disease can be cured with proper medicines. It transmits the parasite from infected vertebrate hosts to uninfected vertebrates. Trypanosomes are the parasite of the animal. About 250 to 300 thousand people became victims of this dangerous insect every year.

5. Killer Bees

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Africanized honey bees are also known as killer bees. These are the most aggressive and dominant insects in the world. Killer bees have short wings. They are smaller in size and dark in color. They feed on larvae, nectar, and sucrose including water.

6. Predator of Killer Bees

Normally, killer bees consist of thousands of members. Each large colony of killer bees contains more than 80,000 members. All the members attack the group and by repeatedly stinging they kill, whoever attacks their hives.  The main target of killer bees is the face and eyes of human beings. The killer bees follow their prey for more than one mile. The venom is not much dangerous but the attack of killer bees in the group could cause even death.

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The drones of Africanized killer bees are stronger, more numerous, and faster as compared to the European cousins. That is why mating occurs between the Africanized drones and the queen of European bees. The result of this mating is always Africanized offspring.

7. Driver Ants

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Driver ants are also listed as the most dangerous insects. They have the largest colony in the world and each colony has members from 20 to 22 million. Driver Ants have a large heads and pincer-like mandibles. They make a repetitive wounds on animals with their strong mandibles. They rely on the powerful shearing jaws.

Drones and queens are larger as compared to soldiers. Ant workers and soldiers are sterile females. The process of mating occurs and 1,000,000 eggs produce by the queen every month. In a real driver ant colony, only one queen is present.

8. Blind Killing Machine

Driver ants are also called “blind killing machines”. They attack the lips, eyes, and nostrils and release formic acid. This formic acid travels in the internal organs which results in pain. No specific numbers of humans die from the bite of this insect.
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9. The Scorpion

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A small most dangerous insect related to the spider has two front claws and a curved narrow segmented tail. The tail has a poisonous stinger at the end. The Scorpion has an elongated body that is made up of small sections and is divided into two parts, the head, and the abdomen. The body has also darkened granular ridges. Some fluorescent chemicals present in the cuticle glow into blue-green color when exposed to a specific wavelength of light.

It has eight legs and its tail is curved on its body. Due to the presence of two grasping appendages found near the mouth. They don’t have the best eyesight and rely on the sense of smell and vibrations. The size ranges from 9 mm to 25 cm. They are native to the desert.

10. Sting and Venom of Scorpion

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The venom of this dangerous insect is deadly enough to kill a person. Mostly, it kills or paralyzes its prey so that it can be eaten. Venom is also us against the Predators for protection. It is estimated that nearly 1,000 people die every year from the bite of the scorpion. Of all the known species only 25 have venom which is most dangerous for humans. Venom has different compounds each causing different effects on the body. The Fried Scorpion is a traditional dish in Shandong, China.

11. Fire Ants

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Fire ants can be easily, distinguished from the other ants through their copper brown head and dark abdomen.  All typical mature insect is divided into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae are also present. Their size varies from 2 to 6 mm. These ants are present in South America.

 

The queen of the fire ant colony is larger. It can produce 1,600 eggs per day. The colony has almost 250,000 workers and their lifespan is from 6 to 7 years. Males die after mating with the queen.

12. The venom of Fire Ants

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The venom is Histamine that is injected by the fire ants. Fire ants bite and spray the histamine chemical. This chemical produces itching, swelling, pain, redness of the skin, irritation, and in extreme cases death. An allergic reaction may occur resulting in slurred speech, chest pain, shock, and shortness of breath. The sting of this dangerous insect is very painful. About 4 to 5 million people are stung by fire ants every year and about a dozen Americans die from being stung by the fire ant yearly.

13. The Bullet Ant

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The habitat of this insect is the forest. Like other insects, its body is also segmented. It is also known as the “24 Ant or 24-hour Ant” because one full day of pain followed by its sting. The queen of the bullet ant colony is not large. Worker ants are 18 to 30 mm long in size and wingless.

14. The sting of the Bullet Ant

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It got its name because so many people compared the sting to being shot by a bullet. After its bite victim would feel like being shot. They might not be killer ants, but they are ranked as one of the most dangerous insects in the world. They also release unpleasant odors for protection and also attack the group with a powerful sting. The sting of a bullet ant is 30 times more painful than other wasps and bugs.

15.  Mosquito

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The most dangerous insect species on Earth are mosquitoes. The word mosquito comes from the “Spanish” language which means “little fly”. They are small, midge-like flies. The length of the adult mosquito is between 3 mm to 6 mm. the body of the mosquito consists of three segments. The head receives sensory information.  A thorax and antennae, an antenna is important for detecting host odors. Female mosquitoes are mostly parasites and through their proboscis, produce the hole in the skin of the host to consume blood. Their hosts are mainly, vertebrates including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish also.

16. Malaria due to Mosquito

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The female mosquito is a carrier of blood-borne diseases such as Malaria. Malaria transmits from the blood. Malaria is a public health issue in many countries. Mosquitoes are also responsible for the transmission of the vector of diseases such as yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, and West Nile virus.  About 300 to 500 million cases of malaria are reported every year and 1 million deaths occur every year.

Conclusion

The above-discussed insects are the most dangerous insects without any confusion. But the list and search for the most dangerous insects do not end here. If you find any insect more deadly than the above, share it with us. We will appreciate your opinion.

Bushra Raza
Bushra Raza
Bushra Raza is a zealous personality in her professional as well as personal life. She always warmly hugs new challenges and face them with unmatchable determination. She loves pets and preferably writes on animals. She owns a kitten and takes care of it more than herself. She has been associated with this site from last year and works in a very clean manner.
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