15 Terrifying Animals That Are Way Smaller Than You

For those of you who consider yourselves fans of the ‘Alien’ franchise and its grotesque chestbursters, this is the closest thing to that parasite you’ll ever see.

The tarantula hawk gets its name for its eating and reproductive habits. When it finds a tarantula, it stings it, which paralyzes the spider completely. Then, the wasp lays an egg on the spider’s immobile body. Then, when the egg hatches, the larva eats the spider…alive.

Though not particularly dangerous to humans, this just proves that sometimes nature is just as terrifying, if not more so, than the most discomforting aspects of human creativity. However, should one be unfortunate enough to actually get stung by one of these insects, be prepared for the most excruciating three minutes of your life.

In the Schmidt Sting Pain Index (yes, such a thing actually exists, and its inventor must be one of the toughest [or craziest] humans ever), the Tarantula Hawk’s sting was the second most painful sting he ever felt. Of the ordeal, he described it as, “…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.”

In other words, the toughest man on the planet would be brought to his knees after getting stung by this terrifying and ruthless insect.