Coyote Peterson Faces Yellow-Vented Hornet and Giant Red Paper Wasp Stings in Bali

I knew that we weren't going to escape this location without me getting stung by something. I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the sting zone with the yellow-vented hornet. Then I'm going to compare it to the giant red paper wasp. We're just going to go ahead and take the full yield of venom here. Okay, in front of me we have two capsules. One has the giant red paper wasp. The other has the yellow-vented hornet. Was I intending to film a sting episode this morning?

I was not. Was I intending to film a sting episode with two stings? Definitely not. We're actually just wrapping up our location here in Bali, staying at this beautiful resort called Bali Palms. I was walking around, giving a tour for a behind-the-scenes look at this amazing establishment. And during the process, our amazing wildlife guide, Max from Australian Wildlife Encounters, managed to catch both of these insects and he said, "Coyote, have you ever been stung by either one of these?" And the answer is no. Now, I have been stung by the yellow-banded hornet. This one is similar in

size, but it is technically a different species. And I can tell you guys that the sting of the yellow-banded hornet, while at first I ranked it as just a three on the pain scale, after about 6 hours, the pain kept going and it lasted for a total of about 12 hours. Hornets, I find, have a much more potent venom than wasps. Now, when we're talking about wasps in the United States, I've been stung by several species. Same for hornets. And a couple of years ago, we did a comparison between a wasp and a hornet sting to see which one is worse.

Now, in the past, it's definitely been the hornet that's put me in more pain. But here's how things sometimes go behind the scenes. As we were setting up for this moment, I was transferring the giant red paper wasp from its smaller container into this capsule, and it almost got away. It literally fell off the table and was getting ready to fly, and I had to grab it with my hand, and in the process, I took a sting. So, I've already been stung once on this finger, and oh my gosh, did it hurt. Without question, so far, this is the most painful wasp sting

I've experienced. Therefore, I know when it goes on my forearm, it's going to be pretty bad. But, I have a feeling that the yellow vented hornet, just based on its size and its robustness, is going to pack quite a punch. Now, to show the difference between these two, I'm going to draw a line of difference on my forearm. No rhyme or reason as to why I chose those spots. So, where do we start? Hornet or wasp? Certainly easier to go with the wasp considering I already got stung on the finger and I know that it's bad, but I know what to expect. Hornet

feel like is a little bit bigger of a payoff, but let's try this game. Eeny meeny miny mo. Catch a stinging bug by its toe. If it stings you, let it go, which we will. Eeny meeny miny mo. Well, I guess we're starting with the hornet. I was kind of hoping for the other way around, but to ensure that we don't lose the wasp, I am going to move it over here to the side. And now's the complicated part. I mean, this is the part that's always the most challenging because you look at the entomology net, which is starting to get some holes in it. This is the same one I've been using for years. When you look through it, it's really

disorienting. You're seeing all these little tiny circles and I don't know, it just it's like looking into a maze. I'm hoping to be able to contain the hornet after the sting happens, but we will see how that works out. And they're smart. They always will go up. Step one, got the capsule out. And you got to get the perfect grab so that it does not escape in the process. Do not try this at home. I know that for the past 10 years, you guys have seen me getting bitten and stung by stuff, but I'm about to do, which is mix two different types of venoms together. And remember, venom yields in quantity. So,

if you really swarm by something like this, that's where you run into serious trouble. Ah, never easy. Nice. Good hold. That is as good of a hold as you could hope for. Oh, wow. Its stinger's definitely big. Oo, what a little bulldog. He's got huge mandibles, too. It's actually a very, very beautiful insect. And you can see where it gets its name. Yellow-vented hornet. that yellow tip at the end of the abdomen. Okay, here we go. I'm Coyote Peterson

and I'm about to enter the sting zone with the yellow-vented hornet. One, two, three. Okay, there you go. You see stingers in my arm? We're just going to go ahead and take the full yield of venom here. [groaning] Look at him. Look at his wings going. He's like, I'm out of here. Ah. Okay, I'm going to take him out. Yeah. Oh, man. That's immediate searing pain. Oh, holy mackerel. I'm trying to be a little bit more quiet because we're at a relaxation retreat right now and hollering in pain is probably really not the way to go. Oh man. Oh wow.

Okay. Oh, that is [snorts] searing pain very quickly. You go in there. Yeah. Hornets [panting] pack a punch. Now, in that instance, I let the stinger go in and let the abdomen pump, so I got a full yield of venom. And if I'm going to do a comparison between the hornet and the wasp, I don't want to just get a little bit. I want to go all the way to make sure that my body is experiencing all the reactions from the hornet versus the wasp.

Oh my gosh. All right, I'm going to stand up for just a second. All right. So, on a scale, post-sting one to four, we're going on Justin Schmidt's insect sting pain index. I would say impact is only like a two, but the pain is escalating. So, I'm not going to rank it until after we get past the Wasp. Let's put Mr. Yellow Butt to the side here. Thank you, buddy. You are a great sport. We're going to get old. old giant red paper wasp out. Finish him. Hornets tend to be more aggressive than wasps. A lot of times you can walk right up to a wasp nest and if you don't

disturb it, they're just going to sort of push the rings out and give you that I will dive bomb you and I will sting you anywhere. your face, your neck, your shoulders, whatever will get you away from my nest, which of course contains the egg or maybe the larvae. So, they look mean. They look like they mean business. And as soon as I get this wasp into the net and controlled in the entomology forceps, we're going to see just what kind of business it means. Wasp in the net. Capsule to the side. Gotcha. All right. Good hold.

Okay. Oh gosh. Look at the stinger on this guy. I don't know if you can see it, but it is absolutely massive. Wow. Okay. So, I might be wrong. This might end up being worse than the Hornet now that I'm seeing the size of the stinger. And I've got a decent hold, but I don't have a perfect hold. So, we're going to get right into this. I'm Coyote Peterson and I'm about to enter the sting zone with the giant red paper wasp so that then I can compare it to the yellow- vented hornet because why not? For science and entertainment. Here we go. One, two, three.

Ah, yeah. You didn't get me good enough. Do better. You got this, wasp. You got this. Find purchase. Sometimes they have to find purchase before they're like, "Oh, this is where I can actually sting." They're not just not quite moving your abdomen in the right way. Oh, it's cuz your wing is blocking it. Don't sting your wing. I can feel the micro stings happening. So, a micro sting is where it just feels around with its stinger. And you can see all the spots that are happening on my arm. That's because I am getting

invenimated, but he's not being able or she is not being able to get that stinger in my arm. Okay, now I'm getting bitten and stung. Get it. Ow. Bites and stings at the same time. Okay. Gotcha. [snorts] Yeah. Okay. Well, I took a multitude of micro stings and the sting on my finger, I think, is going to be able to give us the comparison. Ah, man. So, let me tell you the difference between micro stings and a full-on aggressive like boom, I'm mad at you sting. Micro stings are more a acupuncture needle going in and going in

and feeling around. So, I am getting envenomated, but not to the magnitude of like the full stinger inserting into my arm and just being boom, that initial thrust of venom. Now, it is possible that I took a significant portion of the venom yield when I got stung on my finger, which you can see how fat it is getting from almost losing the wasp at the beginning of this episode, but wow, micro sting, micro sting, micro sting, micro sting. Biggest sting right there. Smack dab in the middle. And yeah, it is definitely beginning to build in pain intensity. All right, let me bring the point back up.

Honestly, I do still think the hornet is worse than the wasp, but the wasp originally when I got stung on my finger off camera was about on par with the Hornet. So, when we're talking about Justin Schmidt's insect sting pain index, with one being the least amount of pain, four being the most amount of pain, you know, your giant hornets, your bullet ants, your tarantula hawks, your executioner wasps, I would put these two insects at a two to a three, which is usually typical for your more commonplace wasps and hornets. But again, remember, it's not about a

single sting. It's the fact that these insects are usually together in a group or in a swarm. And if you find yourself in that situation, you're not only going to be getting just a single sting, it's a multitude of stings. My arm is definitely in screaming pain at the moment from my finger all the way up through my wrist through here and into my elbow. But what we learned here today is that the wasp sting versus the hornet sting are about on par. But when we're talking about being swarmed by either of these two insects as a group, it's far more dangerous to disturb a nest

of hornets than I would say it is a nest of wasps. The hornet is bigger, more robust, and there will be more of them in the nest versus the dynamics of the paper wasp. But like I said, never repeat any of the ridiculous stunts that you see me doing at home because you never know how your body's going to react to insect venom. And the last thing you want is to go into anaphylactic shock and run the risk of dying. Well, what am I going to get stung by next? The next location will determine it. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave. Stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure.

Well, it has been 4 hours since taking a sting from both a hornet and a wasp here in Bali. And I'm actually really excited to report that I have almost no swelling at this point. And the stings are just really kind of strange marks on my arm. Swelling next to nothing and pain. While it's still a little bit sore near the hornet, I feel no pain near the wasp. While the immediate effects of the wasp actually look more damaging than the hornet, it seems that the hornet venom long term is going to be a bit more painful. But as compared to the banded hornet or some of

the other stings I've taken, honestly, neither of these were really that bad. So, what did we learn? Getting stung by hornets and wasps, while uncomfortable in the moment, may not last as long as you might fear. Just admire these animals from a safe distance, and you'll be just fine.