The World's Most Dangerous Bugs

Megalopyge opercularis is often called the southern flannel moth or pussy moth. It's when they are in caterpillar form that they are the most dangerous. The body is covered with long, red-brown hairs. It looks soft, but when frightened, its hair rises. Beneath the hair are needle-like spines connected to a poison-filled gland. The poison is injected into anything it touches.

The poison causes a burning pain, swelling and numbness to the sight of entry, an in severe cases it can cause high fever, vomiting and paralysis.

The M. opercularis are fairly common throughout the southern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America. They can be found on oak, elm, birch, citrus trees and many other common trees. It can also be found in the garden feasting on plants and flowers such as the ivy and the rose bush.

While the Puss Caterpillar rarely causes death, crossing swords with one can and will be a painful experience.

The Human Botfly, D. hominis, is a parasite. When they are ready to reproduce, they look for a warm, moist place on a person's body to lay their eggs. Sometimes they attach the eggs to a mosquito. The eggs will either hatch while the mosquito is feeding or use the site of the bite as an entry point. The larvae, commonly refered to as maggots develop inside the subcutaneous layers of the skin. They feed off of human tissue for close to eight weeks before burrowing to the surface and drop to the ground. The pupate stage lasts for about a week before they evolve into the adult form. The adult Human Botfly is once again looking for a sutable host for her eggs.

The Human Botfly is native to Mexico and Central America. While they are not the most dangerous bug in existance, it certainly is the grossest

Eighth on the list of most dangerous bugs is actually a spider. The Brown Recluse Spider, or Loxosceles reclusa is a tiny spider, measuring just 6 to 20 mm in length. It is brownish-yellow in color with a black line on its belly that resembles a violin, hence the nickname fiddle-back spider. Unfortunately the violin shape is not always visible so it is not a reliable identifier.

When the brown recluse bites its victim, it releases venom into the bite. The poison causes the bite site to burn and sting. It may be accompanied with vomiting and a feeling of exhaustion. The bite blisters and then slowly blackens. The wound can open up into a dermonecrotic lesion or ulcer.

Whole most bites are minor with no necrosis, there are a few that form huge lesions that can take months to heal. The systemic symptoms can include organ damage and on rare occasions, death.

The Brown Recluse is native to the southern United States and the area surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. As the name implies, it is not an aggressive spider. The brown recluse will seek refuge in the folds of cloths and towels left lying around. Tangled in the clothes, they are more likely to be pressed up against the skin. When their existence is threatened, they are bound to bite.

Like spiders, scorpions are arachnids. There are close to 2,000 species of scorpions in the world with at lease 40 different species living in North America.

Like the spider, they have eight legs but they also have a pair of crablike pincer in front and a stinger at the tip of its tail. It has two main body parts, the Cephalothorax which comprises the bulk of its body, and the Metasoma which is its tail.

The Scorpion has eyes on the top of its head as well as two to five pairs of eyes along the front corners of its head. Its exoskeleton is thick and it can move quickly on its four pairs of legs. The claws are worrisome but it's the stinger attached to its tail that causes most the trouble.

Scorpions prey on bugs, lizards, and mice. It is rare for a human to get stung, but when they do the symptoms are severe. The sting burns and as the venom makes its way through the body, the victim will start to drool and shake. It is often accompanied with stomach cramps. Confusion reigns. They don't understand what's happening or why.

Children under the age of five are at the greatest risk when stung by a scorpion. Adults will get sick, but unless they were stung several times, they rarely die.

The Scorpion is a nasty critter, one I would prefer not to tangle with.

There are over 30,000 types of spiders in the world, but the Black Widow is probably the best known and most feared. The Black Widow is a medium sized spider with a body about a half-inch in length. The name is derived from the mistaken belief that the female kills the male after mating. This does happen on occasion, but not routinely. There are five species of Black Widows found in the United States with the Southern Black Widow and the Northern Black Widow being the most common.
The female Black Widow releases venm when they bite the skin of humans or other warm blooded creatures. The venom is considerably stronger than that of a rattlesnake. Fortunately the amount of venom injected is too small to kill most people.
The venm injected from the Black Widow Spider bite causes a considerable amount of pain. Muscles lock and they break out in cold sweat. Sometimes the symptoms include difficulty breathing. The symptoms can go on for days. Some victims never totally recover.
The Black Widow Spider can be found throughout the United States and are fairly common in the southern regions. They are easily identified b the red hourglass on its abdomen.

Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the Deer Tick is about the size of a sesame seed. Often the victim of a bite doesn't even realize they've been bitten. The ticks usually prey on deer and mice, but will ocassional bite a human. The Deer Tick is a blood sucker and will stay attached to its host drinking blood for up to four days be falling off the host's body.

Every year the Deer Tick infects thousands of people with Lyme Disease. Lyme Disease begins with a rash around the bite resembling a bull's eye. Early symptoms inclue head and fever. As time passes, the victim will suffer stiff joints and heart problems. Few victims die from the disease but their suffering can go on for years.

Deer Ticks are fairly common in the United States, primarily in eastern and the northern part of the Midwest.

The Africanized Bee is a descendant from 26 Tanzanian queen bees accidentally released from a lab in Brazil. The Biologist working with the bees was trying to develop a strain better adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions. Instead of more productive bees, he ended up with a strain of extremely defensive bees. The released queens gave rise to what is commonly called the Africanized Bee. They have since spread throughout the Americas.

One sting from an Africanized bee is no worse than a sting from the common honey bee. It hurts but is rarely fatal. Unfortunately the Africanized bees attack in swarms. Their victims may be stung thousands of times. That many stings can and does kill.

The colonies of Africanized bees are migrating northward. They have been found in most of the southwestern United States as far east as Texas. How far north they will migrate has not yet been determined, but they cannot survive for extended periods without plantlife to forage on. The cold is probably the only thing stopping them.

The Africanized Bee is responsible for over 1000 deaths in South America, Central America, and Mexico. As the more aggressive Africanized Bee moves into new territories, the death count is bound to rise.

The Triatoma protracta often bite their victims around the mouth and nose while they are sleeping, hence the name, Kissing Bug. Another fairly common name is the Assassin Bug. There are several species of Kissing Bug, and some have a painless bite, while others are said to be the most painful bite of any insect.

The real danger comes after the bite. The Kissing Bug spreads Chagas' disease. Some victims show signs immediately. They suffer rash, fevers and vomiting. Often the skin near the eyes will swell, but only a few of these victims dies.

Other victims are asymptomatic for years. The disease will lurk in their blood only to surface twenty to thirty years after the initial bite. At that point it is difficult to determine the cause of the heart and digestive problems the victim is suffering and is often misdiagnosed.

They are fairly common in the Southwestern United States.

The Tsetse Fly are large biting flies found only in Africa and live on the blood of vertebrates. Tsetse Flies are biological vectors, carriers of deadly diseases such as sleeping sickness. They are simaliar in appearance to the common house fly except when resting, they fold their wings, one over the other, across their abdomen. They also have a long needle-like projection called a proboscis which extends out from their head. It is attached to a bulb just under its head.

As the Tsetse Fly drinks its victim's blood, it passes along a tiny parasite, the African trypanosomiases, the cause of sleeping sickness. The parasite infects the human nervous system. A first the victim may feel like he has the flu. They often run a fever, and feel cold and tired. As their brain begins to swell, they become cranky and confused. Weak and tired, they fall into a coma. Thousands never recover.

Mosquitoes are a common insect found throughout the world. Most people consider them pests, but they are a vector agent for some of the world's most deadly diseases.

The mosquito is a small flying insect with a forward facing needle-like projection called a proboscis. The proboscis is used to suck the blood from warm blood vertibrates, including humans. They are carries of many diseases, including West Nile virus, yellow feaver, and encephalitis. Some also carry the parasite responsible for malaria.

Every year 300 million people across Africa, South America, and Asia are infected with malaria. The malaria parasite destroys blood cell and clogs the flow of blood. Most deaths occur in Africa where a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds.

The Mosquito kills more people every year than any other bug or animal in the world.

Barth, F.G., 2001. A Spider's World. Kindle Books, New York.

Healy, N. 2006. The world's Most Dangerous Bugs. Capstone Press, Mankato, Minnesota

Black Widow Spiders, Desert USA
Fact Sheet: The Black Widow Spider, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Spiders
New Jersey Mosquito Homepage
Fact Monster: Most Dangerous Insects