Mosquitos

• Regions Found: Worldwide (except Antarctica) 
• Scientific Order: Diptera

Among all of the creepiest insects of the world on this list, Mosquitos are responsible for the most human deaths. In fact, they have killed more in just one year than every single one of the others combined. Most people experience mosquitos in hot or humid environments. This makes them a common thing to see in the Americas and Africa. What makes them so dangerous is their ability to contract illness from a host they bite into. They will then transmit that into the next person(s) they bite.

The saliva from the insect is what actually causes the itchy rash they leave behind. For some, this is all there is to worry about. However, since many mosquitos carry illnesses, they have passed around diseases such as Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, West Nile, and the Zika Virus. In fact, it has been estimated they have been responsible for around 5% of all human deaths in history.

Scolopendra Subspinipes

• Regions Found: China, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Caribbean Islands, Central & South America
• Scientific Order: Scolopendromorpha

You might wonder why we used the “scientific” name of the species, Scolopendra Subspinipes. We felt it was easier than listing one of the dozen nicknames it has based on the regions it might be located in. They are mostly found in subtropical areas around the world. They are considered among the apex predators of insects, taking down any animal it can overpower.

This species has also killed at least one human due to its venom, but it was a child. In large doses, it could kill the average adult though. In fact, their venom is often why they are successful hunters. The species operates like a snake, wrapping around an animal and striking with venom. This allows it to kill mice, lizards, and other creatures that would normally eat IT for a meal.

Assassin Bug

• Regions Found: North & South America
• Scientific Order: Hemiptera

If you want to find a genius insect that’s also partly a sociopath, we give you the Assassin Bug. They are truly one of the creepiest insects you’ll ever come across. What makes them “assassins?” First, they are one of the few insects that are true ambush predators. They have been known to pop up and snatch live bees out of the air mid-flight before. However, they tend to mostly stick to ground-based prey.

There are both predatory and nonpredatory versions of their species. The nonpredatory are blood-sucking ectoparasites, like kissing bugs. Meanwhile, the predator version will stack dead ants on their back. Since many of its own predators hate messing with ants due to their large colonies, they’ll steer clear. Assassin Bugs will have mounds up to 2 or 3 inches of dead ants in goop on their back at a time. It’s incredibly creepy for sure.

Africanized Bee (Killer Bees)

• Regions Found: North & South America
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

Did you know that Killer Bees are actually a hybrid creation formed by human beings? Seriously. They are made from the Western Honey Bee and East African Lowland Honey Bee. We first introduced the East African bee to Brazil in 1956, mostly to increase honey production. However, they were confined in a quarantined area where they’d mate amongst each other and create hybrid bees that produced more honey. Yet in 1957, 26 swarms escaped the quarantine and spread around rapidly. This started in South and Central America.

By 1990, they were in the U.S. and have become a huge part of the southern section of the States ever since. Killer Bees are very defensive and aggressive compared to other honey bees and react much faster to potential threats. In fact, they have been known to chase people up to 400 meters and have stung humans at around 10 times that of other bees. In spite of the bees losing their stingers and dying shortly after a sting, they simply do not care. The species is cult-like, where it quite literally has a “hive-mind.”

Hymenoepimecis Argyraphaga Wasp

• Regions Found: Costa Rica
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga happens to be a parasitic wasp, found in Costa Rica. After the female wasp mates with a male, they actually find a host to lay their eggs inside of. This tends to be the Leucauge argyra spider. The species is common where the wasp is native. Well, the main idea behind this is the aid the spider offers. Once they immobilize a spider using its venom from its stinger, they only have up to 10 minutes before paralysis wears off.

In that time, they will enter the spider’s body to dig around and see if they have larvae inside. If any are found, they will remove them and place their own eggs in. The spider goes about its normal life. But once the eggs are about to hatch, the larva release a chemical that makes the spider form a special web cocoon for the larva. The spider then just sits there, sometimes adding more webbing. It even does this if the larva is removed already. Once hatched, the spider is killed by the new wasps.

Giant Weta

• Regions Found: New Zealand
• Scientific Order: Orthoptera

The Giant Weta is creepy but at risk of extinction. Due to the introduction of specific mammals to New Zealand, most of the wild Giant Weta have been killed. Those living are often in captivity or make their home in offshore islands belonging to NZ. When handled by people, there is often a good visual of how they tend to take up over an entire hand’s worth of space.

That is obviously quite big, and possibly enough to land them on the creepiest insects list alone. Basically, this is an incredibly large grasshopper or cricket, as it’s part of the same Orthoptera family the latter two species are part of. Of course, those little guys are quite creepy on their own. Now imagine a random cricket being far larger. That made the Giant Weta a go-to food for new mammals introduced to NZ. While their size was an asset for years, it ironically led to the species decline.

Executioner Wasp

• Regions Found: North & South America
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Executioner Wasp has been growing in popularity thanks to animal expert Coyote Peterson. During his mission to be stung by those with the most painful stings, he literally had the Executioner sting him. It put him in serious pain, pushing him to declare at the time that it was the worst he ever experienced. It caused tissue necrosis in his arm, as well as severe swelling that required a hospital visit. When swelling finally went down, he developed a small hole in his arm from the rotted skin.

That said, the venom these creatures have is incredibly effective. Of course, none of these wasps have enough in one sting to kill the average adult human. Thankfully, the species is also not very aggressive. However, if a person were to be stung by several, that amount of venom exposure could very well kill someone. When you talk about the creepiest insects in terms of look, the Executioner certainly has that. When you factor in what it can do to you, holy crap!

Human Bot Fly

• Regions Found: North & South America
• Scientific Order: Diptera

It’s rare that we gag discussing creatures. However, we might do so when describing the Human Bot Fly. These Bot Flies are known for being parasitic, where they take over the bodies of different species to lay their larvae into. That can include ticks, mosquitos, as well as cattle and deer. What makes the Human Bot Fly stand out in the species is, well, us.

“Human” Botflies lay eggs in our skin. Most of the time, we know that something is there. If infection sets in, it could kill the larva, so the spot has to be perfect in our skin. Females generally tend to drop their eggs in open holes, such as an ear, inside the mouth, or an open cut/wound. If left alone, they’ll slowly grow under the skin for up to 8 weeks until they are ready to hatch out. That causes them to then burst out or eat their way out of human skin. Talk about creepiest insects, eh?

Maricopa Harvester Ant

• Regions Found: United States & Mexico
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Maricopa Harvester Ant is one to fear for humans. They possess venom that is roughly 10 times stronger than what you might find in your average bee. Of course, this is still only 0.12 mg/kg when measuring its LD50 value in mice. This roughly means 12 stings could kill a 2kg mouse. That might take a bit more to kill your average human. Officially speaking, the Maricopa Harvester Ant is the most toxic insect on the planet.

In humans, the pain from their bite is intense and lasts around four hours before letting up. One portion of their venom is an alkaloid poison that actually releases a pheromone as an alarm signal. This version of chemical signaling will trigger other Maricopas nearby to come by to help. That can then lead to several coming by and all stinging at the same time. Some humans are allergic to several things in their venom, which can cause possible anaphylaxis.

Tsetse Fly

• Regions Found: Sub-Saharan Africa
• Scientific Order: Diptera

The Tsetse Fly mostly inhabits tropical African regions. They are known as large biting flies that can also spread disease. Yet the big thing about them is that they are literally parasites. They are actually obligate parasites, which are parasites that must exploit a host to complete its life-cycle. In fact, they cannot even reproduce if they cannot find a proper host. They live by feeding off of the blood and even vertebrae of their animal host.

They possess and spread trypanosome parasites, being that they are the biological vectors for them. In humans, it can cause human sleeping sickness. In animals, it can cause animal trypanosomiasis. Both are essentially vertebrae infections. Plus, they can move around from host to host if they need to. This can allow the Tsetse to live a long time, enough to produce up to 31 broods of its own in one lifetime!

Japanese Giant Hornet

• Regions Found: East, South, & Mainland Southeast Asia (as well as Far-East Russia & Pacific Northwest U.S.)
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Japanese Giant Hornet gets its name honestly. They are mostly native to Japan and some other areas around Asia. They are also quite large and are a species of hornet. The big problem with the species is that some have slowly made their way into other sectors of the world, including mainland America. This is an issue because the species is actually an ecological disrupter. They have been known to have epic battles with beehives. Sometimes, just one Hornet can surprise attack a hive and kill dozens before the hive can respond.

The hornet is about 45 millimeters in length with a wingspan of 3 inches. Their stinger is incredibly large at 6 mm and injects a major amount of venom. For humans, this can cause severe pain that lasts. When animal expert Coyote Peterson was stung, it hit him with a wave of dizziness immediately. In just 20 minutes, most of his arm was swollen below his elbow. A lump developed at the site of the sting that was roughly 2 to 3 inches in height. In the end, his ENTIRE arm was swollen at double its normal size. Swelling and pain went down after a few days. The venom contains a neurotoxin, which causes most of this.

Scorpionfly

• Regions Found: Worldwide (other than the Arctic)
• Scientific Order: Mecoptera

When you think of a Scorpionfly, what do you imagine in your head? A fly that looks like a scorpion? That is exactly what you get. Males are normally more aggressive than females and will raise their tails as if to strike using it. This is where the fly gets its name. However, they cannot sting with their tails or really at all. The real connection they have to humans is honestly their presence upon our death.

This is where they join our creepiest insects list. Scorpionflies are commonly found around human corpses that they will feed upon. However, these corpses must be fresh for them to do so. Thus, if you spot them at a corpse, it has likely been there for less than a day or two. They will actually feed on the human, both inside and out, for about a day. The species does not exclusively feed on dead humans, however. More often than not, they feed on other dead animals and decaying vegetation.

Warrior Wasp

• Regions Found: South America
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Warrior Wasp species is known for its aggressive behavior while guarding its nest. Most wasps can sting a person or animal several times and won’t experience any issues. Yet Warrior Wasps actually have a barbed stinger, resulting in it sticking into the skin of most humans and animals. That will then kill the Wasp. They get their “warrior” portion of their name partly due to this. The species might attack in a kamikaze-like fashion, where it’ll aggressively shoot off to sting a threat.

That makes them some of the creepiest insects to us. One of the few wasps that die when it stings and they go about things in a suicidal fashion. The species tries to deter threats when guards alert others in their hive that a threat is near. That causes them to make a drumming-like sound. If they do sting you, it causes severe pain that can last for several hours. One expert described the sting as “literal torture.”

Assassin Caterpillar (Lonomia)

• Regions Found: South America
• Scientific Order: Lepidoptera

At one point, very few people ever heard of the Lonomia Caterpillar. It is mostly found in South America and eventually becomes a pretty moth. What makes it one of the creepiest insects around? Less than a decade ago, many people began dying from interactions with the caterpillar species. Roughly 500 people died in a short time period. When studied further, scientists found the sharp barbs on its body happen to be laced with a very effective, deadly venom.

This venom causes “disseminated intravascular coagulation.” Essentially, it causes a person to be unable to clot. Their venom also causes a person to bleed internally. The lack of clotting then causes a person to leak blood from their mouth, nose, ears, pretty much any hole you have. It apparently killed so many because people often stepped on the top of it or leaned on a limb it was on, causing several interactions with its spines. The numerous deaths led to the rise of the “Assassin Caterpillar” nickname.

Bullet Ant

• Regions Found: North & South America
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

The Bullet Ant is known for having one of the most painful stings on the planet. They actually have many effective ways to hurt humans. The pinchers from its mouth can latch onto the skin and be quite painful. The species is unique among ants, who would normally bite only. Yet the Bullet Ant happens to have a stinger a lot like wasps. Their sting itself can be painful upon entry, but the true pain happens once its venom reaches the bloodstream.

This is what ranks them among the creepiest insects in our book. This venom is laced with Poneratoxin, which is a paralyzing neurotoxin. It essentially affects one’s voltage-dependent sodium ion channels, then blocks synaptic transmission to the central nervous system. That can cause things like edema, tachycardia, and even lymphadenopathy. Pain has been described as “burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours” by sting expert, Justin O. Schmidt.

Tarantula Hawk Wasp

• Regions Found: India, Southeast Africa, Australia, North & South America
• Scientific Order: Hymenoptera

We should first mention that the Tarantula Hawk Wasp has one of the most painful stings on the planet. Justin O. Schmidt gave it a 4.0, his highest pain score. While this is pretty bad, that is not what makes them one of the creepiest insects on the planet. This wasp species preys on tarantula spiders. They are also a form of parasitic wasp too. The species will sting a tarantula between its legs, which will paralyze the creature.

It will then be dragged back to the wasp’s nest where it’ll feed on the spider but will leave vital organs intact. A female will lay one single egg inside of the tarantula. Once the egg hatches, this wasp larva will literally eat on the still living tarantula. Of course, the larva will finish it off by eating its vital organs from inside. Upon consuming the spider, the wasp when exits from the spider’s body.

Sources:

Centers For Disease Control (CDC)

University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology

University of Hawaii

Texas A&M University

University of Florida

Henderson State University

University of California, Riverside – Center For Invasive Species Research

University of Kentucky – College of Agriculture, Food, & Environment

Oregon Zoo

Australian Museum

National Geographic

Smithsonian

Scientific American

Science Magazine

Brave Wilderness

Animal Planet

Britannica

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