Scariest Insect Types

Size: Very small, usually 0.5 to 3 mm.

Location:Africa, Asia, the Middle East.

Distinguishing Features:Their main feature is laying eggs in human flesh. Many botfly species and subspecies exist, but the Human Botfly, Dermatobia Hominis, targets humans specifically.

Why You Should Be Scared:These small flies burrow into a person's flesh, laying an egg. As the egg becomes a maggot, it eats the surrounding flesh and tissue. This causes these insects to burrow into people's skulls. When mature, they exit the wound and fly off. They often leave a bad scar and can cause serious medical issues or death from infection.

Size:1.4" long with a 3" wingspan.

Location:Temperate and tropical Eastern Asia, including a subspecies in Japan.

Distinguishing Features:Besides being huge and angry, their stinger reaches 0.24" long.

Why You Should Be Scared:They are called the "Yak-killer Hornet" for a reason. Its sting feels like a hot nail driving into your leg. This comes from its size and powerful venom. A sting can kill if a person has an allergic reaction. In Japan alone, their sting causes 30 to 40 deaths yearly.

Size:0.7" to 1.2" (18 to 30 mm).

Location:Nicaragua, Honduras, and Paraguay.

Distinguishing Features:They are small, black ants with very large mandibles compared to other ants their size.

Why You Should Be Scared:Bullet Ants get their name from their extremely painful bite, which feels like a bullet. Their sting ranks as the most painful ant sting and the most painful insect sting overall. It causes "waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours." One sting does this; people bitten multiple times or by more than one Bullet Ant can be completely incapacitated by pain.

Size:4 to 44 mm.

Location:Almost anywhere people are: Europe, Africa, Asia; North, Central, and South America.

Distinguishing Features:They have a very large curved proboscis. They use this to stab their prey.

Why You Should Be Scared:If they stab you with their proboscis, they likely inject saliva. This saliva liquefies prey from the inside. This lets the insect kill and eat prey much bigger than itself. A sting will not kill you right away, but it is extremely painful and causes bad irritation at the bite site. These bugs are very aggressive; handle them with extreme caution... and a baseball bat.

Size:Up to 12" (30 cm).

Location:South America and the Caribbean.

Distinguishing Features:They are unusually large for an arthropod and have deadly venom.

Why You Should Be Scared:The Amazonian Giant Centipede is not usually a threat to people. However, one death is linked to it. A four-year-old child in Venezuela died after being bitten by one hiding in a soda can.

Size: Not specified.These bees are no larger than most bee species, yet their hive can hold thousands of individuals.

Location: Not specified.They appeared in South America (introduced in Brazil), Central America, and Texas.

Distinguishing Features: Not specified.Their nasty behavior sets them apart. They look like honeybees, but a giant swarm chasing you shows they are different.

Why You Should Be Scared: Not specified.People call these "Killer Bees" because of their aggressive actions. Near their nests, they defend themselves strongly. They chase people up to a quarter mile from their hives. A single colony can cause many stings, killing over 1,000 humans since their 1950s introduction, and they kill horses and large animals near their homes.

Size: Not specified.These flies measure 0.5-1.5 cm, which is big for a fly.

Location: Not specified.Tropical Africa.

Distinguishing Features: Not specified.They possess a three-pronged proboscis and are large for flies. Large groups spread infectious diseases.

Why You Should Be Scared: Not specified.These big, biting flies pose a major threat across sub-Saharan Africa because they spread disease. They feed on large animals, sucking blood and moving diseases between populations. In humans, they cause Human Sleeping Sickness and Animal Trypanosomiasis. They killed entire cattle herds, causing famine, which led to many human deaths locally.

Size: Not specified.One ant is tiny, but the colony acts as one unit. These ants spread over large areas and contain millions of members.

Location: Not specified.Africa, though some species in South America have evolved similar traits.

Distinguishing Features: Not specified.Army Ants do not nest. They create a bivouac using their living bodies while moving, sometimes building structures like bridges and towers.

Why You Should Be Scared: Not specified.Thousands of ant species exist on Earth. Most cause only minor irritation from a bite. Army Ants are different. One Army Ant attacks something or someone. Then, nearly every other member of the colony joins the fight. This causes many bites, which can kill a human. Because their colony reaches millions, this poses a threat to anything they encounter.

Size:They are very small. However, they can fly for hours, covering up to 7.5 miles (12 km) daily.

Location:Anywhere with standing water.

Distinguishing Features:Their abdomen swells red with blood after they pull it from victims.

Why You Should Be Scared:People have all been bitten by a mosquito. Their bites create an itchy swelling bump. This is not the worst thing. What makes a mosquito scary is that it carries some of mankind's deadliest diseases. This makes it the deadliest insect globally. Mosquitos carry malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile virus, dengue fever, filariasis, Zika virus, and other arboviruses. Mosquitos are thedeadliest animals in the world when it comes to contact with humans.

Size:0.3" to 0.9" (1 to 2 cm).

Location:Eastern North America.

Distinguishing Features:Most of the body is green. It has a white-ringed brown dot in the center. This feature looks like a saddle, which gives it its name.

Why You Should Be Scared:People often pick up these insects because they look neat. Do not touch them! Their body has urticating hairs that release an irritating venom. This venom causes pain and a rash, sometimes leading to nausea. They will not kill you, but touching one means you will not have a good afternoon.