He Stung Himself for Science: The Schmidt Pain Scale

You've probably experienced a bee sting at some point in your life, but have you ever wondered how it compares to other insect stings? Enter Justin Schmidt, an entomologist who turned his own body into a living laboratory by voluntarily enduring over 1,000 stings from various insects. His peculiar dedication led to the creation of a pain scale that's both scientifically valuable and oddly poetic. What drives a scientist to such extreme lengths, and what did his suffering teach us?

The Birth of an Unusual Scientific Scale

While most scientific scales measure objective phenomena like temperature or mass, the Schmidt Pain Index emerged from one researcher's bold quest to quantify the subjective experience of insect stings.

In the 1980s, this unique scale was born from studying the fascinating relationship between insect evolution and their defensive capabilities.

You'll find that Schmidt's approach was remarkably methodical. He meticulously documented his personal pain perception from various stings, initially tracking 21 species before expanding to 83.

What started as simple notebook entries evolved into a sophisticated 1-4 scale, with precise increments of one-tenth points. The scale has become an educational tool that helps students better understand insect behavior and defensive strategies.

The scale wasn't just about numbers – it included vivid descriptions that helped others understand the varying degrees of discomfort, from mild sweat bee stings to the devastating impact of bullet ant venom. As an example of his colorful descriptions, he compared the Florida harvester ant's sting to a power drill digging into an ingrown toenail.

Rating Nature's Most Painful Stings

Schmidt's meticulous documentation laid the groundwork for an extensive hierarchy of insect stings, ranging from mild irritants to devastating experiences.

Through his own sting experiences, he categorized nature's weaponry into four distinct pain levels.

You'll find the gentlest stings at level 1, where sweat bees and urban digger bees deliver fleeting, almost pleasant sensations. The pain from these mild stings typically lasts five minutes or less.

Level 2 introduces the familiar honey bee sting as a baseline, alongside yellowjackets with their smoky, burning pain.

At level 3, you're facing more formidable opponents like the Maricopa harvester ant, whose sting mimics the agony of an ingrown toenail for hours.

The dreaded level 4 houses nature's elite pain-dealers: the bullet ant and tarantula hawk, whose pain comparisons include walking on flaming charcoal and enduring electric shocks. Recent research has shown that the executioner wasp sting surpasses even these notorious insects in terms of pain intensity.

Meet the Man Behind the Stings

Behind every scientific breakthrough, there's a dedicated researcher with a unique story. If you'd met Justin Schmidt at the University of Georgia in the 1970s, you'd have found a passionate entomologist pursuing his Ph.D. under Murray Blum's guidance. His fascination with insect behavior and venom research would later shape his remarkable career. His 1983 paper on the hemolytic activities of stinging insect venoms marked the beginning of his influential pain index.

After completing postdoctoral work at the University of New Brunswick, Schmidt established himself at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center and founded the Southwestern Biological Institute. Sadly, he passed away in Tucson, Arizona in 2023.

You might know him best for creating the famous Schmidt Sting Pain Index, but his contributions to science extended far beyond that. Until his retirement in 2005, he endured over 1,000 stings while studying ants, bees, and wasps, ultimately sharing an Ig Nobel Prize in 2015 for his groundbreaking work.

From Twig Ants to Bullet Ants: The Pain Rankings

The pain from an insect sting can range from a mild annoyance to an experience you'll never forget, and that's exactly what Justin Schmidt documented in his groundbreaking pain index.

Through countless sting experiences, he created a detailed 4-point scale that reveals fascinating patterns in insect behavior.

You'll find sweat bees and fire ants at the lower end, delivering brief, sharp sensations that feel like tiny sparks.

Moving up the scale, you'll encounter yellow jackets and hornets, whose stings pack a more substantial punch, like a cigar being extinguished on your tongue.

His passion for studying these creatures started when he was young, after throwing rocks at hornets.

Schmidt spent over a decade researching by deliberately subjecting himself to various insect stings.

At the extreme end, you'll find the notorious bullet ant and tarantula hawk, whose stings can leave you in excruciating pain – imagine walking on hot coals with nails in your feet or dropping a hair dryer in your bath.

The Scientific Legacy of 1,000 Stings

While most scientists shy away from self-experimentation, Justin Schmidt's dedication to cataloging insect stings has left an indelible mark on entomology. His pioneering sting research has helped reveal essential insights into the relationship between pain, toxicity, and social behavior in Hymenoptera species. His work at the Southwest Biological Institute has set new standards for field research in entomology.

You'll find that Schmidt's work goes far beyond just rating pain levels. His systematic venom analysis revealed how different species evolved their defensive mechanisms, leading to groundbreaking theories about the connection between venom development and insect sociality. His innovative 5-point pain scale became the standard for measuring insect sting intensity.

The scientific community recognized his contributions with an Ig Nobel Prize in 2015, but his real legacy lies in how he transformed our understanding of insect defense systems. Through his detailed documentation of over 83 species' stings, he's provided researchers with invaluable data that continues to inform evolutionary studies today.