On March 23, 1947, in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA, Justin Schmidt entered this world. Among the films he produced and wrote for are “Kings of Pain” (2019), “Natural Curiosities” (2013, ), and “The World’s Most Painful Bug Sting” (2019). (2021). Both Dr. Li Schmidt and Deborah Wragg were past spouses of his.
His Entomologist Known As The ‘King Of Sting,’ Dies At 75.
After being stung hundreds of times, Tucson, Arizona, entomologist Justin O. Schmidt died on Feb. 18. Seventy-five. His wife, Dr. Li Schmidt, blamed Parkinson’s.
Dr. Schmidt examined bee, wasp, and ant venom biochemistry, lethality, and predator repellency. Studying stung him almost 1,000 times. “Why? We are genetically predisposed to fear leopards, bears, snakes, spiders, and stinging insects.
. The “king of sting” published hundreds of peer-reviewed stinging bug papers over 40 years. “The Sting of the Wild: The Story of the Man Who Got Stung for Science,” his 2016 biography, made him famous for his colorful 1983 Pain Index for Stinging Insects.
He rated and vividly detailed the pain of 80 bee, wasp, and ant stings from 1 to 4. Level 1 anthophorid bee: “Almost wonderful, a lover just bit your earlobe a little too hard.” Level 1.5 bullhorn acacia ant: “Unusual, piercing, heightened anguish.” Stapled your cheek.” Level 3 red-headed paper wasp: “Immediate, outrageously intense, unyielding.”
RIP to the 'King of Sting', Dr. Justin Schmidt.https://t.co/ghOUAF5NqU
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) March 2, 2023
Bullet ant, Level 4: “Pure, sharp, bright pain. Imagine walking on flaming charcoal with a 3-inch heel nail.” “When Schmidt recalls a certain burning pain, a memory that remains vivid decades after the anguish has passed, he’s not just spinning a tale,” Avi Steinberg wrote in a 2016 New York Times Magazine story about Dr. Schmidt.
“He’s documenting a theory about how sting pain functions: as a deterrent, establishing a memory of anguish that sticks with a predator for life.” Dr. Schmidt refused stings. “Want is kind of a dual word,” he told NPR in 2016. “Nosting data.” Must read this article Gary Rossington Funeral.
Rhinelander, Wis.-born Justin Orvel Schmidt was raised in Boalsburg, Pa. His mother, Jane (Groh) Schmidt, taught home economics, while his father, Orvel, taught forestry at Penn State.
Wildflowers, weeds, and insects surrounded him. Justin smashed the tree after failing. Half the nest fell. While escaping, his back was stung multiple times. “It felt like someone had repeatedly struck the back of my neck with a hot branding iron,” he says in his memoir. “My first insect-sting agony.”
He received a Penn State chemistry degree in 1969 and a UBC master’s three years later. ц Road travels with his first wife, zoology student Deborah Wragg, yielded harvester ants. “Wham, an ant stung me,” he wrote while traveling in Georgia. “Serendipity struck. Hurt. It was excruciating.”
Journey began. He became a research entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, part of the USDA, in 1980 to improve honey bee colony health.
He started a nonprofit laboratory after retiring in 2005. He recorded vinegaroons’ mating habits in southeastern Arizona’s backcountry. Check this Marcus Mariota Net Worth.
“He was one of the most insatiably curious guys I’ve ever met,” Hayden center colleague and close friend Stephen Bachmann said in a telephone interview. He didn’t tolerate idiots, especially administrators.
Dr. Schmidt’s insect pain scale has expanded outside entomology. The Ted-Ed animated cartoon “That Hurts” featured him as an educator (2021).
In 2016, Dr. Schmidt appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with various stinging insects, including red and black harvester ants, wearing a red bug T-shirt. Dr. Schmidt said the black ones stung for four hours. ц The red one hurts for eight hours. ц We hope you like this article Maluma Net Worth.
Correction: March 7, 2023, This obituary misspelled Dr. Schmidt’s daughter’s surname. Krista Jewell Schmidt—not Schmidt-Jewell. Her son Scott was misidentified. He married Pat Figuli after Deborah Wragg.
