The Schmidt Pain Index
This is the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, an eponymous and subjective measurement of the pain caused by bees, wasps, and ants (and other things in the order hymenoptera.) It ranges from 0-4. In Level Zero, you don’t feel any pain whatsoever; the stinger doesn’t even penetrate your skin. The humble and familiar honeybee will deliver a Level 2.
Schmidt describes Level 4, the absolute worst, as follows:
“Pure, intense, brilliant pain… like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel”
“That really shuts you down. It really felt like a bullet. It was instantaneous, almost even before it stung me. It was absolutely riveting. There were huge waves and crescendos of burning pain—a tsunami of pain coming out of my finger. The tsunami would crash as they do on the beach, then recede a little bit, then crash again. It wasn’t just two or three of these waves. It continued for around 12 hours. Crash. Recede. Crash. It was absolutely excruciating. There wasn’t much I could do except be aware of it and groan.”
“Blinding, fierce [and] shockingly electric”
“A running hair dryer has just been dropped into your bubble bath”
“Like you were walking underneath a high-voltage electric line in a wind storm, a wind gust snapped the line, and it fell on your arm. You get 20,000 volts all at once cascading through your body. It’s pure electrifying pain. Instantaneous. Very clean and sharp.”
“Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?”
Here’s Dr. Schmidt with a giant bug on his face.
Some quotes and that image are from this article he penned in Esquire (cached) where he touches upon why the pain profiles are different.