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All right, guys. It is time to put another creature on the Brave Wilderness Bite Sting Index. Now, we are currently in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, and this is the first time we've ever visited this country, which means literally everything that bites and stings is on today's menu. All right, vets up and the search is on. Here we go. Wow, this place is incredible. This isn't my first time in the Amazon rainforest, but certainly my first time in this part. So everything out here is going to be brand new. Got to watch out for those wandering spiders. Oh, guys, I might have our first contender right here. Look at that caterpillar. Are you kidding me? That thing is wild looking.
It almost looks like a chandelier. Look at that upside down. Look at all those little tus at the end of its bristles. That is crazy. I've never seen a caterpillar like this. Now, there are a lot of species of caterpillars out here in this rainforest. And of course, all of these caterpillars will form cocoons and then hatch into a moth or a butterfly. The big question that I'm curious about is this one of the venomous stinging caterpillars of the Amazon. There's really only one way to test and that is unfortunately for me to give it a little rub on my arm. If this is one of the stinging caterpillars, we will of course put it on the bite sting index. First, we got to find out if we have a real contender. All right, I'm
just going to give it a gentle rub and we'll see. On three. One, two, three. All right, gave it a good rub there. Let's see what happens. I don't feel any sensation of the sting, but sometimes it could be a delayed reaction. Sometimes it could take a minute, just like the danky mushy of Japan. At first, I did feel a shock, but it wasn't until about an hour after those stings that I started to feel the full systemic reaction, which included numbness of the gums, teeth, and mouth, and my feet, and my hands went totally numb. I'm thinking, guys, we just have a very unique looking caterpillar on our hands.
No sting reaction from this one. So, that means our search continues. Let's put this little guy back on his leaf and keep heading down this trail. While that caterpillar was super unique, we still need to find an insect worthy of the bite sting index. There are literally millions of species that live in this jungle. So, it's only a matter of time until we find our creature. Oh, I hear something. Oh, spider. Oh, I got it. Oh, look at that, guys. It's a type of tarantula hawk. Hang on. Hold on. What is this?
It's not a wasp. Hold on. I got to get in the jar. Hold on. We might have something really cool. Oh, we've got a mimic. It looks just like a tarantula hawk. Definitely bites. And I'm definitely going to put it on the bite sting index. Let's go set up the table. All right, here we go. And there we have the next contender for the Brave Wilderness Bite Sting Index, the mimicking assassin hawk. Let's get it out of this field vial and into this clear container so we can take a much closer look. Try to do a clean transfer
here. Net man ready, guys. We got a net off camera just in case I lose this assassin bug. All right. Always get a little nervous when I have a rare insect that we will never find again if it flies away. This is not a wasp at all. It is an assassin bug. A completely different type of insect, but it has adapted to look like a spider wasp to ward off predators. This particular assassin bug has evolved to mimic a notoriously fearsome spider wasp known as the tarantula hawk. Because spider wasp, let's be honest, they're pretty tough creatures. Nothing wants to mess with the tarantula hawk. So, by looking like one, you have a good chance at avoiding predation out here in this very competitive environment that is the Amazon rainforest.
It is truly unbelievable how good this mimic is. Let's talk real quick about the mimicking characteristics. Those long legs very indicative of a spider wasp. They use those long legs to grapple spiders where they will paralyze them to lay their larvae inside to later be consumed. So those long legs are a key characteristic of this mimic. In addition to that, the wings, just looking at them up close like this, they look identical to the tarantula. Let's compare them side by side. That golden hue, the shape, everything screams spider wasp. In addition to those, we have a third mimicking trait, which is the antenna.
Let's actually get it out of the container so we can take a much closer look at this. See if I can get a good grab right out the gate. Perfect grab. Got it. You can see there's a part of the antenna that are tipped almost an orange color. That is very indicative of a spider wasp. There are many tarantula hawks that have that identical coloration to the tips of their antenna. But look beyond that. There's these little wispy tips to the antenna that are hard to see. And that has to be intentional because if they were easy to see, it would be a giveaway that it's not a mimic. But that's about
where the similarities end. Now, let's take a look at some of the differences that in my opinion make this creature look even more menacing than your ordinary tarantula hawk. Take a look at the back. Look at the back of the exoskeleton of this assassin bug. It is covered in spikes. It looks to have at least seven protruding spikes. And let me see how sharp these are. Oh my gosh, those are like little thorns. If you were to go in to just grab this assassin bug, you would immediately feel the effect of those spikes. I have a feeling they would cut through the skin with ease. Now, let's look at the underside. So, you can see we have an eposmatic patterning on the underside. You have
those six spots. And usually you see this on stinging insects. You see this on bees. You see this on wasps. So everything about this creature gives you an eposmatic warning signal. Apposmatic means don't touch me because I'm dangerous. This assassin bug actually wields a very potent weapon. You see that elephant trunk looking appendage there? That is the assassin bug's proboscus. Now assassin bugs are predators just like the name sounds. And they go in and assassinate their prey. And the way they do it is by wielding that proboscus to inject an enzyme that immediately incapacitates their prey and liquefies it from the inside out so it can be slurped up like a milkshake. Now, I have been bitten by an assassin bug
once before for the bite sting index. For those of you who remember the Borneian assassin bug, that one put on quite the wall up to my arm. However, this one looks a whole lot more menacing and I have a feeling could rank a lot higher. I also have to remind everyone that there is a risk involved with taking a bite from any assassin bug and it will require a certain follow-up to the hospital and that's because assassin bugs are capable of carrying a parasite that can cause chagas which is a silent killer. It's a long-term disease that takes hold over many, many years, up to 10 years after the bite is inflicted, and you can develop things like heart disease and even organ failure. And I
will definitely need to get tested for weeks after this experiment. So, let's just say the aftermath of this bite will continue for a little while longer, but I know this is going to hurt a lot. Are you guys ready? Yep. Here we go. It's time to enter the fight zone with the assassin hawk. On three. 3. Uh-oh. Is it possible this is an assassin bug mimic? No matter what I did, the assassin hawk refused to bite my arm. And as the minutes ticked by, I started to wonder if this was even an assassin bug at all. So to find out, I leaned in for a much closer look at its proboscus.
Ow. Yep. Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely an assassin bug. Yeah. It just does not want to bite me. So, we're going to have to induce a bite. And to do that, I'm going to need a little help. Why don't everybody say hi to Chris Catah? Chris, why don't you come on in here? You're going to be my extra set of hands. And actually, if you come on this side, um, what I'm going to need you to do is to carefully with the forceps unfold the proboscus and put it on my skin. And then I'm going to let it take a bite. Ready? Oh, yep. Something's happening. See it fishing around? Yep. Something's happening. Ah, I think it's like it's giving me like little test bites. Like, come on. I see the mouth part. Ah, yeah.
Okay. Yep. It's biting me. Yep. Oh, yeah. Okay. I just want to make sure it's a good bite. Oh, I just want to make SURE IT'S GOOD. AH, YEAH. IT'S IN. AH. YEAH, IT GOT ME. It's biting me. Yep. That hurts. Yes. It's biting. It's definitely biting. Yeah, it's it. Okay. Ah, that is definitely the hardest bite test I've ever had to uh perform. Thanks for helping, Chris. I appreciate that. All right. All right. See that little slice here. Let's put the uh assassin bug back in the container. That definitely hurts. Burns. It burns right in the epicenter of that bite. You can see there. I wouldn't call that blood, but you can
see a couple of like blood spots in the center of the bite. And the good one is where it really got in there with the proboscus. and it feels like a sparky little flame underneath the skin, but very focused, not radiating like a tarantula hawk would. When it comes to insects you should not fear, this assassin bug has to be close to the top of the list. Now, where will the assassin hawk rate on the BSI? Truth be told, we still have to wait a little bit longer to see how this aftermath goes. Right now, the pain of this bite is tolerable. I can definitely deliver full lines to you right now. But will it flare up in the next 24 hours, dramatically increasing its aftermath score? Only time will tell, but you don't have to wait a second. We're going
to skip ahead and tell you where this insect rates on the BSI right now. Roll it, guys. On intimidation, the assassin hawk is one dangerous looking insect. At first glance, it looks almost exactly like a tarantula hawk. And that resemblance alone definitely had me on edge. That impressive mimicry combined with its aposmatic warning colors sends a clear message to any would-be predator. Back off, I pack a punch. And even knowing that it wasn't actually a tarantula hawk, I still couldn't shake that feeling of unease. So, for that, I give it an 8.4 out of 10 on intimidation. For pain, it took a few attempts before this assassin hawk bit my arm, but once it finally committed, it didn't hold back. Again,
the bite came forcefully and immediately followed by an intense burning sensation. It felt very much like a hot poker being driven right into the center of my skin. An instant burn that I won't soon forget, but I have to say it wasn't quite as bad as I expected. So, I give it a 7.2 out of 10 for pain. Now, for the aftermath. Oh boy. The swelling and irritation around the bite sight stuck around for a couple of days. But my biggest concern wasn't what I could see on my arm. It was what I couldn't see. Being bitten by an assassin bug meant I always had the possibility of contracting the deadly disease known as chagas. So the anxiety of that alone bumps up the score significantly. But
then of course I had to go in for the test, the blood test. And luckily they came back completely negative. Had those tests been positive, the aftermath could have easily been a 10. But this time it got away with a 7.5, giving the assassin hawk a total BSI score of a 7.7. All this to say, this assassin bug sure does look a whole lot like a tarantula hawk. But when it comes to pain, the original reigns supreme.
