Caching can hurt!

[+AustinSweetnSour]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by, but immediately got given a quadruple dose of hardcore antibiotics (In my tush, no less!!!) and 3 different bottles of horse pills to take for the next several days. At least I was able to get some restful sleep last night, for the first time since Sunday!

This weekend, I will be going back to finish finding that cache! (Wearing my suit of Geocaching Plate Armor, no less!)

Edited October 12, 2007 by AustinSweetnSour

[+Mudfrog]

There's no telling what it was that bit you but i'm sure glad you are doing ok now!

[+team moxiepup]

Glad you're feeling better.

 

At the puncture site, can you see any holes? If there is one, it was probablly a sting, such as a wasp, hornet, etc. If there are two holes, it was most likely a spider.

As one who gets bit/stung frequently, i have a morbid curiousity about these things!

[+AustinSweetnSour]

Glad you're feeling better.

 

At the puncture site, can you see any holes? If there is one, it was probablly a sting, such as a wasp, hornet, etc. If there are two holes, it was most likely a spider.

As one who gets bit/stung frequently, i have a morbid curiousity about these things!

 

The doctor that saw me said she thought she could see two holes...

[+Zop]

You're lucky! It could have been a syringe!

[+Snoogans]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by, but immediately got given a quadruple dose of hardcore antibiotics (In my tush, no less!!!) and 3 different bottles of horse pills to take for the next several days. At least I was able to get some restful sleep last night, for the first time since Sunday!

This weekend, I will be going back to finish finding that cache! (Wearing my suit of Geocaching Plate Armor, no less!)

 

It could have been one of these:

A Tarantula hawk. The sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect.

 

Where you were sounds like perfect habitat for one.

 

I encountered about 200 of these in a bush while geocaching in Laughlin once. Nasty suckers. I knew what they were and I stayed well away. DNF on THAT cache. They are usually solitary, so all I can think is they were mating or using a communal cooling system (wing flapping) or sumthin'. It was about 115 degrees in the shade.

 

The first time I encountered one, I hit it with my car doing about 75mph in N.M. (BTW it's the New Mexico official state insect.) The thing stayed alive lodged under my wiper. I wanted to get a better look at it when I stopped about 200 miles further on so I didn't do anything to knock it off. When I lifted the wiper it attacked me and flew off. I didn't get stung though.

Edited October 13, 2007 by Snoogans

[+Rick618]

Not sure if they are in your area but I found a saddleback caterpillar once that felt like the skin was on fire. Glad you made it out.

 

http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/profiles/insects/saddleba.jpg

[+team moxiepup]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by, but immediately got given a quadruple dose of hardcore antibiotics (In my tush, no less!!!) and 3 different bottles of horse pills to take for the next several days. At least I was able to get some restful sleep last night, for the first time since Sunday!

This weekend, I will be going back to finish finding that cache! (Wearing my suit of Geocaching Plate Armor, no less!)

 

It could have been one of these:

A Tarantula hawk. The sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect.

 

Where you were sounds like perfect habitat for one.

 

I encountered about 200 of these in a bush while geocaching in Laughlin once. Nasty suckers. I knew what they were and I stayed well away. DNF on THAT cache. They are usually solitary, so all I can think is they were mating or using a communal cooling system (wing flapping) or sumthin'. It was about 115 degrees in the shade.

 

The first time I encountered one, I hit it with my car doing about 75mph in N.M. (BTW it's the New Mexico official state insect.) The thing stayed alive lodged under my wiper. I wanted to get a better look at it when I stopped about 200 miles further on so I didn't do anything to knock it off. When I lifted the wiper it attacked me and flew off. I didn't get stung though.

 

OMG!

 

I thought the sting from the little ol' ground wasp this summer was bad...

 

Right now, I am sooooooooo glad I live up north!!! It's probably impossible to cache in full body armor in NM, huh?

[+Snoogans]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by, but immediately got given a quadruple dose of hardcore antibiotics (In my tush, no less!!!) and 3 different bottles of horse pills to take for the next several days. At least I was able to get some restful sleep last night, for the first time since Sunday!

This weekend, I will be going back to finish finding that cache! (Wearing my suit of Geocaching Plate Armor, no less!)

 

It could have been one of these:

A Tarantula hawk. The sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect.

 

Where you were sounds like perfect habitat for one.

 

I encountered about 200 of these in a bush while geocaching in Laughlin once. Nasty suckers. I knew what they were and I stayed well away. DNF on THAT cache. They are usually solitary, so all I can think is they were mating or using a communal cooling system (wing flapping) or sumthin'. It was about 115 degrees in the shade.

 

The first time I encountered one, I hit it with my car doing about 75mph in N.M. (BTW it's the New Mexico official state insect.) The thing stayed alive lodged under my wiper. I wanted to get a better look at it when I stopped about 200 miles further on so I didn't do anything to knock it off. When I lifted the wiper it attacked me and flew off. I didn't get stung though.

 

OMG!

 

I thought the sting from the little ol' ground wasp this summer was bad...

 

Right now, I am sooooooooo glad I live up north!!! It's probably impossible to cache in full body armor in NM, huh?

 

These things are pretty much everywhere Tarantulas and other large spiders dwell. Which is petty much ummmm, everywhere.

 

From the Wikipedia:

== Geographical distribution ==

Worldwide distribution of tarantulas includes areas from India to Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas, where these predatory wasps are also likely to be found. Tarantula hawk species have been observed from as far north as Oregon, in the United States, and south as far as Argentina in South America, with at least 250 species living in South America. Several species of tarantula hawk are found in the deserts of the southwestern United States, with ''Pepsis formosa'' and ''Pepsis thisbe'' being common. The two species are difficult to distinguish, but the majority of ''Pepsis formosa'' have metallic blue bodies, reddish Antenna (biology)|antennae, which separates them from ''Pepsis thisbe' (both species have bright orange wings that become transparent near the tip).

[+Team Cotati]

I think that it might have been a flying cobra. Nasty little suckers.

[+Snoogans]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by,

 

Here is a way to determine if you were bit/stung by one:

 

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index or The Eirik Schmidt Holst Pain Index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different Hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Eirik Schmidt Holst, an entomologist for whom the index is named. Holst has published a number of papers on the subject and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging Hymenoptera.

 

His original paper in 1994 was an attempt to systematise and compare the hemolytic properties of insect venoms. The index contained in the paper started from 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressed through 2, a familiar pain such as a common bee or wasp sting, and finished at 4 for the most painful stings. In the conclusion, some descriptions of the most painful examples were given, e.g.: "Paraponera clavata stings induced immediate, excruciating pain and numbness to pencil-point pressure, as well as trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part."

 

Subsequently, Schmidt has refined his scale, culminating in a paper published in 2000 which classifies the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera. Notably, Schmidt described some of the experiences in vivid and colorful detail:

 

1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.

1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.

1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.

2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.

2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.

2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.

3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.

3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.

4.0 Pepsis wasp: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath (if you get stung by one you might as well lie down and scream).

4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel.

 

Kinda funny. I have been stung by everything in green lettering. His descriptions are pretty accurate.

 

Except for the fire ants which sting me all the time, I can remember in vivid detail the times I was stung by the ones further up the scale.

 

Hornet = Trout fishing in the Sierras.

Yellow Jacket = I got about 50 on my belly and crotch while trimming a hedge at work when I was 17.

Honey Bee = Caught one on the inner thigh while riding my motorcycle. (most recent)

Red Harvester = 4th grade checking out one harvester trail while standing on another. DOH!

Paper Wasp = One attacked me without provokation while I was picking up sticks in my back yard. The same one got Cujo about 30 seconds later. (most recent)

 

Evidently PAIN enhances memory.

Edited October 13, 2007 by Snoogans

[+Kit Fox]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by,

 

Here is a way to determine if you were bit/stung by one:

 

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index or The Eirik Schmidt Holst Pain Index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different Hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Eirik Schmidt Holst, an entomologist for whom the index is named. Holst has published a number of papers on the subject and claims to have been stung by the majority of stinging Hymenoptera.

 

His original paper in 1994 was an attempt to systematise and compare the hemolytic properties of insect venoms. The index contained in the paper started from 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressed through 2, a familiar pain such as a common bee or wasp sting, and finished at 4 for the most painful stings. In the conclusion, some descriptions of the most painful examples were given, e.g.: "Paraponera clavata stings induced immediate, excruciating pain and numbness to pencil-point pressure, as well as trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part."

 

Subsequently, Schmidt has refined his scale, culminating in a paper published in 2000 which classifies the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera. Notably, Schmidt described some of the experiences in vivid and colorful detail:

 

1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.

1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.

1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.

2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.

2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.

2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.

3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.

3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.

4.0 Pepsis wasp: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath (if you get stung by one you might as well lie down and scream).

4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel.

 

Kinda funny. I have been stung by everything in green lettering. His descriptions are pretty accurate.

 

Except for the fire ants which sting me all the time, I can remember in vivid detail the times I was stung by the ones further up the scale.

 

Hornet = Trout fishing in the Sierras.

Yellow Jacket = I got about 50 on my belly and crotch while trimming a hedge at work when I was 17.

Honey Bee = Caught one on the inner thigh while riding my motorcycle. (most recent)

Red Harvester = 4th grade checking out one harvester trail while standing on another. DOH!

Paper Wasp = One attacked me without provokation while I was picking up sticks in my back yard. The same one got Cujo about 30 seconds later. (most recent)

 

Evidently PAIN enhances memory.

 

Nice chart and write-up

 

I've been nailed by a Yellow Jacket (many times), Honey Bees (more times than I can count) and about ten different types of ants. I always avoided the Tarantula Wasps like the plague.

 

The most painful experience geocaching in the Mojave Desert are the spines from the different types of cactii. By far the most painful (even more so then all the critter stings) was the Joshua tree spine that went between my fingernail and cuticle. The spine broke up and I got one heck of a painful infected finger. The cholla cactus is a real treat also.

Edited October 13, 2007 by Kit Fox

[+elmuyloco5]

Last Monday, I was attemting to push through some dense Pampas grass near a Pond, searching for a cache, when I got bit by something...I screamed, slapped it away from my arm, and ran out of there. My son helped me back to the car, as it was hurting quite a bit, and I finally had to go to the hospital yesterday, as it appeared to be getting infected, and the pain was getting worse. We were not able to determine what it was I was bit by, but immediately got given a quadruple dose of hardcore antibiotics (In my tush, no less!!!) and 3 different bottles of horse pills to take for the next several days. At least I was able to get some restful sleep last night, for the first time since Sunday!

This weekend, I will be going back to finish finding that cache! (Wearing my suit of Geocaching Plate Armor, no less!)

 

It could have been one of these:

A Tarantula hawk. The sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect.

 

Where you were sounds like perfect habitat for one.

 

I encountered about 200 of these in a bush while geocaching in Laughlin once. Nasty suckers. I knew what they were and I stayed well away. DNF on THAT cache. They are usually solitary, so all I can think is they were mating or using a communal cooling system (wing flapping) or sumthin'. It was about 115 degrees in the shade.

 

The first time I encountered one, I hit it with my car doing about 75mph in N.M. (BTW it's the New Mexico official state insect.) The thing stayed alive lodged under my wiper. I wanted to get a better look at it when I stopped about 200 miles further on so I didn't do anything to knock it off. When I lifted the wiper it attacked me and flew off. I didn't get stung though.

 

HOLY CRUD! I live in NM and thank goodness haven't seen one of these yet. I'm allergic to bees so I'm sure I'd probably faint if I ever saw this thing! We have a ton of yellow jackets and bees every summer because of all the lavender up here. My husband is constantly having to play Terminator while I hide indoors.

[+Lotho]

Nice chart and write-up

 

I've been nailed by a Yellow Jacket (many times), Honey Bees (more times than I can count) and about ten different types of ants. I always avoided the Tarantula Wasps like the plague.

 

The most painful experience geocaching in the Mojave Desert are the spines from the different types of cactii. By far the most painful (even more so then all the critter stings) was the Joshua tree spine that went between my fingernail and cuticle. The spine broke up and I got one heck of a painful infected finger. The cholla cactus is a real treat also.

 

 

A similar thing happened to me. I was drawing my curtains and put my fingers straight into my cactus plant. I got about 3 between my nail and the gap underneath it. Luckily they didn't break and i managed to get all of the out with tweezers. Later on in the day though, it still hurt, and when i got home i found another one i had missed. Doh!

Edited October 13, 2007 by Lotho

[+AustinSweetnSour]

It could have been one of these:

A Tarantula hawk. The sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect.

Ok, had I been bitten/stung by one of those, I wouldn't have felt it...as the heart attack that I would've had from just seeing it would've immediately done me in!

I have a near-phobia about stinging insects like wasps...just seeing that picture is going to give me nightmares for months!

I was joking about the geocaching platemail armor, but upon second thought, it may not be such a bad idea!

[+edge1255]

I wouldn't worry about being stung or bitten by one of those. I'd worry about being carried off by it!! Thankfully we don't have anythings like that over here in Scotland

[+Mule Ears]

...

The most painful experience geocaching in the Mojave Desert are the spines from the different types of cactii. By far the most painful (even more so then all the critter stings) was the Joshua tree spine that went between my fingernail and cuticle. The spine broke up and I got one heck of a painful infected finger. The cholla cactus is a real treat also.

 

A similar thing happened to me. I was drawing my curtains and put my fingers straight into my cactus plant. I got about 3 between my nail and the gap underneath it. Luckily they didn't break and i managed to get all of the out with tweezers. Later on in the day though, it still hurt, and when i got home i found another one i had missed. Doh!

 

Ditto--the effects of cactus spines can be quite a bit more than just a simple puncture wound. Clusters of cholla spines deeply embedded cause an instant bruise and significant of swelling (though for some reason these ugly wounds aren't all that painful). Shindaggers can be vicious; I had one break off in the thumb-flexor muscle of my right hand. Couldn't dig it out with an X-acto knife, so I had a bump for about a year.

 

Joshua Trees: Years ago, in the Mojave Desert on business, my associate, who had been consulting a map in the shade of one of those devil-trees, stood up to go. In doing so, he drove a Joshua spike right through the crown of his boonie hat and deep into his scalp. He had to make up new curses to express himself...

[+LDove]

Not going caching in NM, nope, no siree, not with those flying MONSTERS around. ECH! I freak out if I see a small spider, a tarantula would have me fainting dead away! I will just stay here in WI where I just have to swat at 10,000 mosquitos and pick off zillons of ticks..

[+IANNA]

Anna Tried to hop a fence getting to a cache and torn the ligment near her ankle

 

the most I have gotten was a dime sized peice of flesh sheared off by some rocks