All language subtitles for B.W.S08E02.Stung.by.a.Cicada.Killer.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

What's going on,
Coyote Pack, and welcome

to a special
episode of base camp

because it's also
an aftermath episode

coming right off the sting
from the Japanese giant hornet.

And if I'm not quite on
point for this episode,

it's probably because
it's only been

12 hours since I was stung.

- We're still in Japan.
- Yeah.

And we're inside.

Why are the inside, Mario?

We're inside because
there's currently a typhoon

raging outside our doors.

Typhoon Trami's right
outside, but, hey, got a film

a video, right.

We got to show what
happened to your arm.

Yeah, absolutely.

And we thought it would be
interesting to do a slightly

different aftermath
video so we could really

dive in and dissect
this sting because it

was one of the most epic we have
ever featured on the channel.

For sure.

It's only been 12
hours, but already, I

mean, look at your arm.
I mean--

It's huge.

Don't need to say much more.

It looks like a
fully pumped hot dog.

The swelling is all the way down
into my elbow all the way up

through my wrist,
and I think if you

were to stick me with a fork
right now, it would explode.

Show them the Popeye effect.

Show 'em the whole thing.

There you go.

You been eating
your spinach, huh?

Nope.

I've been taking Japanese
giant hornet venom to the arm.

I don't recommend it, guys.

Trust me.

It has been an
excruciating 12 hours.

And, Mario, as we know, there
are multiple species of hornets

here in Japan, and we
went after the biggest.

Yeah, traveling to
this region, naturally

everyone was going
to ask us about the

Japanese giant hornet, right?

So doing our research,
we determined

that there are
several species, some

of them that look very similar.

- Yeah, we brought some with us.
- Right.

Actually this is cool.

The entomologist we were
working with in the field

gifted us this
amazing collection.

Look at that.

So these are the four
largest species of hornet

that live here in Japan,
and the only true giant

is this one right up here
in the top left corner.

Yeah.

And that is the species
that I was stung by,

the true Japanese giant hornet.

Sure, we had some difficulty
initially actually finding one.

Yeah.

And we caught one that we
thought was a giant hornet,

but during further research,
we determined it wasn't.

Yeah,
that was actually--

that's a good point to make.

We can't actually show
some of that footage

because probably
it'd make you upset.

That was actually this
species right down here.

It's
still pretty big.

Still way bigger than
any of the hornets we have

in the United States and
very similar in design--

a yellow head, same
aposematic coloration,

but as you can see
the size difference

is pretty noticeable.
- Yeah.

- Oh, yeah.
- Very significant.

So, OK, let's--

let's turn the microphone over
to ask you some questions.

Yes.

First of all, how you feeling?

Really out of it.

I'm in a daze.

I feel like I'm sick.

My body is definitely fighting
against the venom right now.

I felt nauseous.

I barely slept last night.

I tried to just keep
an ice pack on my arm

to minimize the swelling.

Took some antihistamines.

At breakfast,
you told us there

was a transition last night
from, like, searing pain

to extreme itching.

Yes.

My arm itch is like
crazy right now,

and I just keep doing this.

Aah.

Stop, stop, stop.

I know you're not
supposed to itch it,

but it is so itchy right now.

And still the pain
isn't nearly as intense

as it was the first six
hours after the sting.

It sort of dissipated throughout
the course of the night,

but it was still
uncomfortable to the point

where it made it almost
impossible to sleep.

Well, from Mario
and I's perspective,

we can definitely say that
that sting was by far the worst

reaction from a single sting--

Yes.

You've ever
had or a bite actually.

Yeah, correct.

Yeah, the immediate response
was intense swelling.

I mean, we could
see it immediately.

Lots of the other stings,
it was a little bit more

of a gradual
swelling and visual.

But that visual of you just,
like, boom, exploding into that

little, like, egg-shaped knot--

If you put
up a picture right here,

there's, like, an instant
goose egg on your arm.

It was crazy.

And where I think that that came
from is similar to the bullet

ant, when the hornet stung
me, its stinger went so deep,

it actually got
stuck in my flesh.

It makes for a very interesting
comparison between the two.

Yeah, I almost had a
flashback to the bullet ant

when you said its
stinger's stuck in my arm.

Like, almost the same
scenario was dancing around.

Yeah.

Well, and in that moment,
I mean, of course,

similar to the
bullet ant, I wanted

you guys to be able to
get that shot to the best

of your ability, and it
took every ounce of strength

I had to not swipe the
insect off of my arm

and to let that
stinger take hold.

And of
note, of course,

is you had significant
amount of venom injected.

Yes.

Based on the
size ratio of this insect

compared to the bullet ant--
Right.

Everything else
we've dealt with, the amount

of venom going in was great.

I would say
arguably this is probably

the most amount of venom that
has been pumped into my arm

by an insect at this point.
- From one insect.

From one insect.

Still the
bees on the face I think

is the worst reaction
you've ever had--

Definitely.

But from one
insect, I would agree.

Without question.

And I would liken the
sting from this insect

to be similar to the bite of
the giant desert centipede--

Really?

As far as what
the effects are.

Definitely that bad.

Yeah.

And certainly the
aftermath of my arm

swelling like
this, the centipede

did the exact same thing.

So in the midst of
filming that episode,

it's really tough to catch
and compose your words

and really think about
what you're saying,

and I'm sure it all cut together
wonderfully in post-production

because we're filming
this before the episode is

even edited.
Right.

And you
guys are watching this

after it had been edited and
then you saw the episode,

but I think in the
midst I was saying

it certainly was more
painful than the tarantula

without question.

Yes.

And after the fact,

I have to say that
the Japanese giant

hornet dethrones the bullet
ant as the most painful sting.

Really?

Yes, without question

and here's-- and here's why.

Here's why.

Now the bullet itself based
on intimidation factor,

it's really not that scary.

It's just a big ant, kind
of charismatic actually.

Yeah.

There's a lot of
lore behind the bullet ant.

There is, but
there's also a lot

of lore behind the
Japanese giant hornet.

And, in fact, multiple people,
as many as 10 to 25 people

die every year from the stings
of the Japanese giant hornet.

Nobody dies from
bullet ant stings.

So you have to think about it.

So in your opinion,
how many stings

do you think a person could
take before it becomes

a life threatening situation?

I would guess
probably 10 stings.

And, of course, it depends
where you were stung.

So take the bee beard,
for example, right.

If you were to have 10
of these hornets attack,

if you disturbed the nest
and they latched on to you,

keep in mind those little feet
have grappling hooks on them.

They have those big
biting mandibles.

You can hear
their mandibles clipping,

and they can sting
multiple times.

Sting multiple times,
which bees cannot.

So if you've got 10 of these
hornets that were to latch on

to, if you disturbed the
nest, my guess would be

10 stings could kill anybody.

Yeah.

In the research
that we conducted,

certainly every year just
like in the United States,

every year people die
from bee stings, right,

and generally it's
an allergic reaction.

So not only do you
have the potential

to have an allergic reaction,
but multiple huge stings

will definitely
cause a lot of edema.

And it could actually
block off your airway.

That's the danger.

Yeah, well, that's
why I'm saying

that if you were
stung in the face,

that would probably be the case.

And, I mean, it's
tough, too, and, Mari,

you can speak to this.

Like, being behind the camera,
witnessing one of your friends

go through this-- we talk
about this beforehand.

Like, Coyote tells us, like,
you try to get me to respond,

try to get me talking.

And even asking you
questions while you're

going through that experience,
you almost feel bad in a way,

but yesterday was certainly
one of those times

where I was seeing the swelling
and thinking, Mario, do we

need to be really worried here.

Sure.

You know the first
initial seconds is

crucial for any sting, right.

If you do have an
allergic reaction

and go into anaphylactic shock,
that happens within seconds.

So that moment where
we monitor, you

know, your speech, your vitals,
everything, very important.

Once we passed that and
we're into the minutes,

OK, that part is safe.

You're not going
to go into shock,

but now we have to
work with your reaction

of the actual venom.

It's amazing how the
different venom properties

will either last longer,
what they're going to affect,

and so on.

And I agree that
significantly this reaction

is worse than the bullet ant.

Oh, yeah.

However, the bullet ant,
you were basically 20--

what 36 hours later, you were
kind of like it still hurts.

Right.

It's
still throbbing.

I was surprised to hear
that you're ranking it up

there with the centipede bite.

Yes.

Like, that to me--

I mean, we've talked
many times off camera.

Like, you've always said
that the centipede bite

will always be the top--

Right.
To you.

But you're saying that
this is right there?

This
is right there for sure.

It's not as bad as the Gila
monster bite, but keep in mind,

guys, bites and stings
are very different.

More venom comes from
a bite than a sting.

But, again, the stinger
getting stuck in my arm

and pumping venom multiple
times is a big dose.

I mean, you can feel--

I mean, you guys can't
feel through the camera,

but my entire elbow is swollen.

And we had marked on
my arm the swell lines.

I still have some of the
Sharpie marker spots.

It just went right past that.

That was the sting, this
was the immediate swelling,

and now, I mean,
you know, my wrist,

it feels like if you were
to stick me with a fork

it would go pop.

Put your-- both your
forearms next to each

other so you can kind of see.
Yeah.

Yeah, we'll go ahead and get a
tight shot of that right there.

You guys can see one forearm
as compared to the next,

and certainly if I
turn them like this--

Yeah.

This one is just,
oh, it's so puff.

Popeye.

Yeah, it's crazy.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

- I'm Mark Vins.
- I'm Mario Aldecoa.

Be brave--

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the
next base camp adventure.

During the winter of
2020, the national media

erupted with a
deafening buzz that

venomously stung an unwarranted
fear into homes across America.

That buzz came from none
other than the giant hornet.

Hailing is one of the most
painfully toxic stings

in the world, these
nightmarish insects

have a nasty reputation,
and they were defined

as murder hornets by the press.

For anyone that is
late to the party, yes,

I have already been stung.

And, yes, it hurts a lot.

Absolute searing pain.

As for the invasion,
no, we aren't

going to be overrun, stung,
and killed by giant hornets.

But some may argue that the
invasion has already happened.

That's where I come in.

It's time to set
the record straight,

and more importantly,
it's time to take

a misidentified scapegoat
off of the suspect list.

OK, let's get down to business.

You showed up to see a full
grown man experience some pain,

but first, you got to
learn a little something

about this incredible insect.

As my mom always
used to say you can't

have your dessert until
you finish your vegetables.

Wow, if that's not a
terrifying little insect,

I don't know what is.

Ladies and gentlemen,
let me introduce you

to the cicada killer,
one of the largest wasp

species in the United States.

This is only second
to the tarantula hawk.

Now this wasp is not
technically a spider

wasp like the tarantula hawk.

This is, in fact, a sand wasp.

Now similar to the
tarantula hawk,

they have a very unique
biological cycle.

This one that you're looking
at right here is a female.

It is the females
that get larger

than the males and
the females that are

armed with a venomous stinger.

And what the females
will do is search around

under the treetops for cicadas.

They will hone in
on their target,

move in, and use that
elongated abdomen

to swoop up underneath their
prey, and then sting it.

They paralyze the cicada
similar in the way

that a tarantula hawk
paralyzes a spider.

Eventually the
male cicada killers

fertilize egg that she lays on
top of the paralyzed cicada.

The female will physically
carry that cicada

and its large mandibles and
its grappling hook-like legs

back to its underground burrow.

These burrows can be up
to 20 inches in length,

and they have multiple tunnels.

At the end of each
one of these tunnels,

the female will place
the paralyzed cicada.

Once that egg hatches,
it turns into a pupa

and begins to feast upon
that paralyzed insect

until it grows large
enough to build a cocoon,

and then once it hatches out
of that cocoon the next season,

another cicada killer comes
up from under the ground.

If that's not a true horror
story, I don't know what is.

This is a very large wasp, and
the easiest way to identify it

are those large
amber-colored wings.

When this creature is at
rest, like it is right now,

the wings have a very
triangular shape to them,

very different looking from
hornet or a spider wasp.

You'll see there when
she folds her wings back,

it looks a little more concave,
similar to a giant hornet,

which makes it really easy
to misidentify this species

as that foreign invader.

And when you look at
the front of the insect,

it has enormous eyes.

These wasps have incredible
eyesight though primarily

diurnal, and you'll
see them very

active on overcast cloudy days.

Again, they're using their
senses to find the cicadas up

in the tree, target
in on their prey,

and then they will make a move.

That thorax is rather
sizable, very robust,

but it's the abdomen
that is the most unique.

That black and yellow
coloration tells you

that this creature is venomous.

Aposematic means leave me alone.

I am not something that
you want to be stung by.

Now when it comes to the
demeanor of this wasp,

to be honest, they're rather
docile and very seldom will

they ever interact with humans.

In fact, the only time you
stand the chance of being stung

by this insect is if you were
to step on top of its burrow

and it were to come
up from underneath you

and try to escape.

It would maybe sting
your bare foot if you

were blocking its escape way.

Other than that,
this is not a bug

that is ever going
to go out of its way

to try to interact with humans.

During the summertime,
you will oftentimes

see clusters of the males
battling it out up in the air,

but other than that these are
considered solitary sand wasps.

And no matter how you break
it down, guys, to be honest,

this is one very
intimidating insect,

which makes it very
clear as to why

people are afraid of this wasp.

Wow, seeing it buzz
around inside that capsule

brings a number of flashbacks--

the warrior wasp,
the tarantula hawk,

the executioner
wasp, and certainly

the Japanese giant hornet.

But there is a very good
reason as to why I'm going

to be stung by this wasp today.

No, I'm not technically coming
back out of sting retirement.

This is going to
be a one and only

because right now
this insect has

a very negative reputation
by people misidentifying

it for the giant hornet.

They're panicking, and they're
aiming to kill this species.

But it is not something that
we need to be afraid of.

So by getting this up
close for the cameras

and by taking a sting, I can
show you guys that that sting

is not really that potent.

Remember, it only ranks as a 2
on the insect sting pain index.

Now that stinger is, of course,
a modified ovipositor, which

is used for depositing eggs, and
while it is laced with venom,

the venom of the species is
not necessarily that potent.

However, I do not know
how my body is going

to react to the
sting, so we certainly

have an epinephrine pen on
set just in case my body

has an allergic reaction.

But if you guys
are ready, I think

it is time to transfer the
cicada killer from the capsule

into the net.

Let's get in the forceps
and get me stung.

This is the most
delicate part, so I've

got to really stay focused
and make sure to get

a clean secure hold just--

Just like that,
we almost lost it.

Man, that is a very, very, very
powerful, very powerful wasp.

Oh, buddy.

OK, let me try this again.

I mean, you have to think about.

This thing is capable of
carrying a cicada that

can weigh more than it does.

It is a very, very
powerful wasp.

And I also have to be very
delicate and very gentle.

I don't want to
damage the insect's

wings in any way whatsoever.

She's got all these
little hairs on her,

which makes her very slippery.

That's where I'm struggling.

I need to get it right.

All right, like that.

I got a good hold.

I got to go with it now.

You guys in position?

OK, hands shaking.

I'm Coyote Peterson,
and I'm about to be

stung by the cicada killer.

Oh my goodness,
that stinger's long.

Here we go.

1, 2, 3.

It got away.

I lost it.

It's the first time
I've ever lost one.

I must be rusty.

It got me more than once, too.

Woo.

Were you able to see that?

You able to see the sting?

Come in tight right there.

Long stinger.

Oh, yeah, it's throbbing.

Wow.

OK.

Really not that bad.

Really not that bad at all.

It got me there and there.

Oh, yeah.

OK, OK, here we go.

Second rush of pain.

Second rush of pain.

Nowhere near a velvet
ant or tarantula hawk.

Nothing close to bullet ant
or some of those larger wasps.

Wow, for such a long
stinger, very intimidating,

really not that painful.

It got good stings, oh, yeah.

Skin is definitely
tightening up.

Common paper wasp at the
most, not even on par

with the honeybee.

Not even on par
with the honeybee.

I can't believe it.

My first miss on the capsule.

Well, it's certainly back
into the wild at this point.

Without question
the strongest insect

I have ever worked with in
one of these sting scenarios.

Now here's my theory.

For a spider wasp like
the tarantula hawk

to go up against something
like a tarantula, that's

an aggressive
predator unto its own

with big fangs, so your
sting and your venom

has to be insanely potent.

I don't feel any sense
of paralysis in my arm.

When it comes to a wasp
like the cicada killer,

when you're going
to get the cicada

with no stinging
or biting parts,

I could see why your sting
doesn't need to be so potent.

Now a couple of
minutes have gone by,

and if you come over here and
you zoom in on my arm, Mario,

you can see something funky's
happening on my forearm.

Look at that welt. I thought
I only got stung twice,

but I'm seeing swelling
here and radiating

out now into my forearm.

Now I do feel burning
after the fact

but nothing more than
a common wasp sting.

There is an initial
jolt. It's sort of

like an electrical shock, and I
was anticipating the paralysis

of the tarantula hawk.

But that pain went yeet, and
then it just kind of died off.

Wow.

Now what that leads
me to conclude

is that while this may be
a very intimidating wasp

that is going to be confused
for the giant hornet,

it is definitely not something
we need to be afraid of.

I would say that this
thing is no more than a 2

on the insect sting pain index.

And even 10-year-old Coyote
could have likely taken a sting

from this creature and
gone right on in the swamps

catching turtles.

Now when it comes to seeing
one of these wasps this summer,

if you come across
it in your backyard,

remember this is not a creature
that is out to get you.

They want nothing
to do with humans,

and unless you're
a cicada, you have

absolutely nothing to fear.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on
the next adventure.

Whew, that was a good one.

The science of stings will
always have a special place

in my heart, and the painfully
entertaining experiences

we have caught on camera
have brought to the spotlight

a collection of
creepy creatures that

have never been so celebrated.

Giant hornets are not
going to invade America,

and hopefully this up close
look at the cicada killer,

despite its menacing
design and impressive size,

has helped alleviate
some of your concerns.

In an absolute worst case
scenario, if you are stung,

it's not nearly as bad
as their appearance

would lead you to believe.

Remember they kill
cicadas, not humans.

And if there's one thing
I hope you walk away with,

it's that these
wasps are noticeably

docile unless trifled with.

Leave them alone
and let them live.