12 Incredibly Dangerous Insects to Squash at Your Own Risk

A bite from the tsetse fly is already unpleasant. You’d be even unhappier knowing that bite may have transmitted a parasite with the capacity to send you into a coma.

If you’re a bug, an assassin bug bite is a death sentence, as they inject toxins that turn their insides into goo. If you’re a human, your size will help you out a bit, but it's not going to be a great time, especially given that they carry Chagas disease. More on that unpleasant diagnosis next.

Given a choice between the “assassin bug” and the “kissing bug,” I think most of us would go for the latter. Unfortunately, they’re simply two separate possible paths to Chagas disease. A disease that can wait months before exhibiting symptoms, and then, decades after the bite? Can cause sudden cardiac arrest.

Another disease vector with a penchant for tiny bites is the sand fly. Their cargo? The disease leishmaniasis, which can not only be fatal if untreated, but also cause skin ulcers. I try to avoid ulcers as much as possible, personally.

Driver ants are a species of army ant, and are seemingly their version of Delta Force. They'll team up to subdue and eat small animals, and if they’re feeling peckish enough to make a larger animal their target? You’re in for a rough time.

A bullet ant’s bite is unlikely to kill you. It’s likely to make death seem pretty inviting, however. Its bite is one of the most painful stings on the planet, and that pain can stick around for up to a full 24 hours. Type their name in on YouTube if you feel like watching macho travel hosts get humbled on video.

Botflies, on the other hand, are something I’d heavily recommend not searching on any website, especially one with images. This is because the botfly sees other animals’ bodies as a nice warm nest for their larvae to incubate beneath the skin of. Those larvae eventually hatch. That goes about as pleasantly as you’d expect.

The real danger in blister beetles comes if you eat them, which seems like a tough mistake to make. Touching them also isn’t recommended, however, since they’re covered in a blister-causing chemical known as cantharidin. Blistered hands aren’t great, but they’re better than dissolving the lining of your gastrointestinal tract.

The assassin caterpillar is covered in spines, which will stick in your skin and start filling you with a venom that stops your blood from clotting. Rack up enough spines, and you’ll bleed to death from the inside.

Basically the John Wick of bees, if you piss one of them off, you should probably get your will written. They’ll follow a chosen target over extremely long distances, stinging all the way.

Look, any list of dangerous insects has to include the mosquito, given their ability to spread diseases like malaria and dengue. Honestly, though, I’m tired of giving them so much glow. Enough!

Yup, the stars of aunts’ sweatshirts the world over have the capacity to kill a human. Of course, they won’t. It’s only if you eat them that you have a problem, since thanks to their lifelong diet of milkweed, they're highly poisonous. Not too likely, I’ll admit, but if you’re a frog reading this? Heads up.