Advertisement

World's most painful insect wreaks havoc on 'Naked and Afraid'

On Sunday’s Naked and Afraid, the 13th season kicked off with a couple of the show’s past all-stars, 40-year-old firefighter Fernando Calderon and 31-year-old EMT Dani Beau, trying to survive in an Ecuador rainforest with one of the most concentrated collections of predators in the world, both big and small. And that includes a little something known as fire ants.

Named for its extremely painful sting that has been compared to being shot with a firearm, bullet ants can get up to over an inch long and have the appearance of wingless wasps. The sting’s pain can last for up to 24 hours, and is currently the highest rated on the insect pain scale known as Schmidt's Sting Pain Index.

Unfortunately, both experienced first hand how bullet ants got their name as they were both bitten throughout the course of the episode. Beau was the first one to get bitten, which happened on the bottom of her foot.

“It feels like someone took a hammer and smashed my left foot into a thousand pieces, and then I stepped on charcoal,” Beau said.

She was able to battle through the pain, and decided she would avoid any future ant stings on her feet by cleverly making some shoes. In hindsight she probably should have made some gloves for her partner as well, because Calderon was bitten in his hand by a bullet ant shortly after Beau’s bit.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

DANI: [SCREAMS]

FERNANDO: [BLEEP]

DANI: [GROANS] It's a bullet ant.

FERNANDO: [GROANS]

DANI: Hurts so bad. [GROANS]

KYLIE MAR: On the season premiere of Naked and Afraid Sunday, the 13th season kicked off with a couple of the show's all stars. Forty-year-old Fernando and 31-year-old Dani trying to survive in an Ecuador Rainforest with one of the most concentrated collections of predators in the world, both big and small. And yes, that includes a little something known as, bullet ants.

FERNANDO: Where does it bite you?

DANI: On my foot. It seriously feels like someone took a white gauge needle and just shoved it through your bone. [GROANS] How can something so small hurt so bad?

KYLIE MAR: Named for it's extremely painful sting that has been compared to being shot with a firearm, bullet ants can get up to over an inch long. This stings pain can last for up to 24 hours and is currently the highest rated on the insect pain scale known as, Schmidt Sting Pain Index. So obviously trying to do things like sleep is no fun.

DANI: I'm not gonna be able to sleep with this itch. What it's gonna like the whole night? It feels like someone took a hammer and smashed my left foot into 1,000 pieces, and then I stepped on a charcoal.

DANI: Dani who currently works as an EMT was able to battle through the pain, and decided she would avoid any future ant stings on her feet by cleverly making some shoes. If only she had made Fernando some gloves while she was at it.

FERNANDO: [GROANS] Fu-- I got a bullet ant. Son of a biscuit!

DANI: A bullet ant?

FERNANDO: Bullet ant.

DANI: Oh, no!

FERNANDO: Oh, look at his [INAUDIBLE]. This hurts like hell.