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the schmidt pain index was created by a guy who internationally subjected himself to the sting (bites of 78 different species of hymenopteral bees, wasps ants, etc). in order to quantify the intensity of pain experience
the schmidt pain index was created by a guy who internationally subjected himself to the sting (bites of 78 different species of hymenopteral bees, wasps ants, etc). in order to quantify the intensity of pain experience Entomologist (bug scientist) Dr Justin Schmidt from Arizona, USA, was curious to discover more about the effects of insect stings. So in 1983 he developed the Schmidt Sting Pain Index to measure the painfulness of different stingers. The index runs from “1” (mild) to “4” (severe). To give a sense of what those numbers mean, the sting of the average honey bee or wasp is rated at a "2". However, the Schmidt Sting Pain Index isn't just about a 1–4 scale. In addition to a numerical rating, Dr Schmidt also accompanies many of his sting assessments with a short qualitative summary to describe the type of pain and how long it lasts. The index records how much pain an insect sting causes so that we can make scientific comparisons between different species’ stings.