Original subtitles

The eastern mountainous slopes

of Costa Rica seemed to be a world

swarming with stinging insects.

And if bullet ants and warrior wasps were not enough,

the remote untamed wilds of this rainforest ecosystem

had one more painful sting up their sleeve.

With an intimidating specimen safely contained

within the viewing capsule, we return to our jungle base camp

and began scouring the internet for an identification to our

find.

All right, guys, so we have looked

up vespid wasps of Latin America,

and I found a great site.

And I have found out what this is.

What is it?

It is not a new species.

It is actually called the executioner wasp.

What?

The executioner wasp.

Talk about a horrific name, right.

Man, that sounds--

that sounds like it's something to be

considered for the sting index.

Well, when I look

at the insect sting pain index, it does not

appear that this is on there.

Now there is a warrior wasp.

There's the tarantula hawk, the bullet ant.

There are some species of paper wasps.

This is considered to be the largest

paper wasp species in all the neotropical environments.

But it is not on Schmidt's sting pain index.

This is crazy.

Maybe-- maybe this is a better

conclusion to the story.

You know, the warrior wasp did not take down the bullet ant.

The bullet ant in my opinion is still

the reigning king of sting.

But something like this with those stripes and that

menacing looking face, man, if this had a more powerful sting,

that would truly deserve its place on the throne.

Don't you think?

Let's think about it.

Let's think about it.

The executioner wasp, that name alone is enough to drive

fear through anyone that hears it.

Hailing is the largest of the neotropical paper wasp species,

this insect is a giant.

It carries the cryptic moniker in relation to its swift attack

and decapitation methods for dismantling

helpless caterpillars, which it in turn feeds to its brood

of alien like larva.

Those who have been witness to this massive wasp

have wisely kept a safe distance.

And while this is not a newly discovered species,

when it comes to the powerful punch in its venomous sting,

this nightmarish looking insect has not officially been

ranked on the sting pain index.

So today the chapter you have all been waiting for

is about to be written.

I'll tell you what.

If this is more painful than the bullet ant, that is it.

I'm doing no more stings after this.

Honestly, probably doing no more things after this regardless.

This has to come to an end at some point.

But I would not have been able to walk away

from Costa Rica having found this wasp

and not have been stung by it.

So here we go.

Mark is giving me the signal.

It is time to get stung by the executioner.

Here we go.

There it is, the executioner, and he is waiting.

You sure you want to do this?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, I built myself up at this point.

There is no turning back.

You guys ready?

I'm ready if you are.

OK, I'm going to place the capsule inside

of the entomology net.

There we go.

And I'm going to get the wasp out with the forceps.

Wasp is in the net.

Got it.

All right, there we go. I've got it.

Perfect hold.

And that stinger is absolutely massive.

OK, I'm going to move the epinephrine pen off to the side

here.

Let's keep the glass capsule accessible so that I

can quickly cover it back up.

That is a very large wasp right there.

You can see it's completely calmed down at this point.

It is just waiting to inflict a sting.

OK, are you ready?

I'm going to put this here.

Yep, I'm ready.

I'm Coyote Peterson, and I'm about to enter the sting

zone with the executioner wasp.

Here we go.

1, 2, 3.

Oh my gosh!

Oh, that's really bad really quick.

Right there.

You can see the venom coming right out of my arm

right there.

You see that?

Oh my gosh.

Oh, that hurts a lot.

God it's as bad as tarantula.

Right there.

Tell me what you're feeling.

I know it's hard.

Oh my gosh, it's bleeding.

Gah, man, the executioner wasp packs an unbelievable wallop.

Man, the initial impact is definitely just as sharp

if not worse than a tarantula.

Look, you can see the blood underneath the skin.

Right now my arm is throbbing.

It is on fire.

It is about-- oh my God that hurts.

It is burning uncontrollably.

It is definitely as bad as the tarantula hawk.

There's no question about it.

It is without question sharper, sharper than a bullet ant.

I think we've got a new king here, folks.

It's just a matter of how long is this pain going to last.

Talk to me about the swelling.

Can you feel--

Hold on.

It's getting worse.

Stop burning!

Ugh!

It's getting worse.

You little devil.

Oh, the executioner lives up to its names.

Oh my gosh.

You can see the blood coming out.

That is why I can't talk.

I can't talk.

It is so much pain--

cut the camera.

Oh my goodness, look at this white spot.

Wow.

That is the worst reaction you've ever had.

Holy cow.

We have a new king of sting, folks.

Mari, are you seeing this?

He is the king.

Mar, I can't feel my arm.

Do I need to be worried here?

Are you getting--

Mario, what do you think?

Mario?

Oh my God.

Oh my arm.

Oh my arm.

It's-- burning does not stop.

That may be the most painful sting I have ever taken.

No, let me rephrase that.

That is the most painful sting I've ever taken.

The bullet ant has been dethroned.

The executioner is king.

Mari, have you ever seen a react like this?

You see the white?

Yeah.

Looks like scarring.

Just like the bullet ant. Yeah.

There's scarring, but there's blood coming out.

Well, gosh.

My arm is on fire.

It feel like a Gila monster?

It is a different pain than the bullet ant.

This is a searing pain.

It is attacking my blood cells.

It is breaking down the membranes around those blood

cells, and the cell particles are spilling out into my arm

right now, sending firing neurons screaming to my brain

right now.

You're in a lot of pain.

Lot of pain going on right here, guys.

A lot of pain.

You out of the woods yet?

It's extremely hard right now.

The initial sting and the shock that

came from the sting of the executioner

was more painful than anything I've experienced before.

And I think I said it when I was on the ground over there

that the bullet ant has been dethroned

and the new king of sting is the executioner.

And I am bending the knee right now

to this insect because not only is its look intimidating,

but its sting is the real thing.

It is screaming at the moment, screaming searing pain.

So where the warrior wasp felt like pins and needles

and the bullet ant felt like somebody taking a hot poker

and sticking it into your arm, this is like flesh peeled back.

No, I don't know what it feels like to have flesh peel back,

but I can imagine that this is what it is.

You see, I can't even, like, move my hand right now.

My whole arm is in such agonizing pain,

and it's starting to itch like right here.

Like, I could feel the venom working its way up

similar in the sense to how the Gila monster's venom worked,

and it is hot to the touch.

Mark, just tell them hot my forearm is right now.

Oh, wow.

You could see right here actually.

Mari, can you get a shot of that?

Try to get that. You see this?

There's a residual reaction occurring up your arm.

See what this is.

Now in this instance, I do not know if the pain is going

to last for more than an hour, more than five

hours, more than 36 hours.

But I can tell you right now that the pain has lasted longer

than the tarantula hawk, and at this moment,

it is worse than the bullet ant.

So in this immediate presentation,

I am declaring the executioner wasp as being the king of sting

as it currently stands.

All right, guys, I'm just going to go ahead and give you

an outro because I'm starting to have trouble

composing my words here.

Yeah, we're concerned, man.

You're not out of the woods yet, are you?

No.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

Man, it's intense.

The prolonged effects of the executioner's venom

lasted for nearly a week as just a single sting

packed enough potency to rot a small crater in my forearm.

This has got to be the longest hike

back to basecamp I ever had.

My arm is screaming in pain right now.

The residual pain was followed by persistent itching

and ultimately a scar that today I still carry with me

as a reminder that this neotropical paper wasp is a foe

unlike any I had ever faced.

You still filming?

Yeah.

You don't want to remember this?

The executioner.

Oh, my arm is throbbing right now.

Drink some water.

As the rumble of thunder echoed

through the mountains and flashes of lightning

illuminated the sky, heavy rains poured down, saturating

the wilds of South Africa.

Tonight we are hunkered down at the Tuinskloof Game Reserve

waiting for the storm to pass.

When it does, the life-giving rains

will have brought one mysterious creature out from hiding.

Creepy, crawly, and completely harmless, this native arthropod

definitely deserves a moment in the spotlight.

Oh, he's awake.

You guys got a lot of lights out here.

It's a little late for lights, isn't it?

No, it's the perfect time.

Oh, you guys wanna go searching for creatures?

Oh, yeah.

Well, the good news is that we're on location right now

in South Africa staying at the Reserve Protection Agency's

headquarters, and earlier today, some rain

moved through, which means that the animals

are going to be moving about.

Yes.

Now, I heard a rumor that there's

a little creepy crawly that may be out tonight

called the shongololo.

Oh sho--

what?

The shongololo.

Sounds crazy, right.

Could be creepy, could be crawly,

and if you guys are ready, get the flashlights on.

See if you can get one up close for the cameras.

You guys ready.

Let's do it.

All right, here we go.

All right, let's venture out from under the overhang

and into the mist.

Can you see that mist coming down?

Yeah, I can.

I know it looks like we're in Costa Rica

right now, not South Africa, and here you go.

If you crouch down, point your camera at the ground,

bring the lights down here, you'll notice how

much moisture is in this grass.

And we are in the dry season right now, and what's crazy

is that I think we brought the rain from Ohio.

I was expecting arid terrain and lizards and reptiles

all over the place, and so far we've

been wet this entire trip.

Over here, we've got a rock structure.

All those little nooks and crevices

are the perfect place to find the myriapod

that I'm after tonight.

You guys ready?

Let's do it.

Let's go search.

All these crevices are the perfect place.

Look, you see all this moisture just

spilling down the rock sides.

We're looking for the shongo--

what's it-- - Shongololo.

And how do you spell that?

Shongololo.

Wow, I'm actually impressed.

Oh, right here. Right here.

That didn't take us long.

Now you may be looking at that thinking

to yourself that's a millipede.

Shongololo is the indigenous name here in South

Africa for the millipede.

Now this is a big black one.

Come here, buddy.

I'm gonna pick it up very gently.

Ooh, buddy.

Look at that guy.

Now there are several different species in this area,

and this is actually not the one that we are looking for.

This one is just completely black in coloration.

Actually it looks a lot like the millipede

that we found in Arizona.

It does a bit.

Now there are 8,000 species of millipede worldwide,

and the ones here in South Africa

are bigger and in many instances more brightly colored.

Now, I'm going to place this one back.

This is-- you may be thinking, man, that's a big millipede.

Why don't we film that one?

Trust me, guys.

When you see the millipede that I'm after,

it is much more impressive looking.

I'm going to place this one back down on his rock.

You ready? Yep.

All right, little buddy.

Let's check this plant structure as well.

Good place for snakes, maybe some frogs.

Oh, shongololo!

Got one?

Two of them. You got two?

This is the one we're looking for,

the red and black millipede.

Can you guys to see it. Oh, yeah.

Man, that's awesome.

We got one here and one right down there.

Wow, they're about equal size.

They are big, but this is exactly the species

that we were looking for.

Now I'm going to gently take one of these off the tree.

Let's take it under an overhang and get up close to the camera.

Sound good? Sounds good.

Yeah, we should get out this rain.

Starting to really come down.

I'm gonna be very gentle with this.

And got it.

Wow, it really is red.

Oh, yeah.

And unlike the centipede, I don't have to worry about being

bitten by this creature.

OK, let's go up here under the overhang

and get it up close for the cameras.

Well, that certainly didn't take us too long.

There you have it, the red and black millipede,

one of the most iconic millipede species

that you can find here in South Africa.

Now, this one's pretty good size.

They do get a bit bigger than this,

but for getting one in front of the cameras,

this certainly will work.

Now I'm free handling this millipede,

and this is completely safe.

Unlike centipedes, they do not bite,

so I have nothing to worry about here.

Now similar to insects in arachnids, they are arthropods,

but both centipedes and millipedes

are part of a superclass known as myriapods.

To some species they are considered toxic.

However, to humans, if you eat one of these,

you're going to get sick, but it's not going to kill you.

Not that I can imagine you'd ever want to eat a millipede.

Now the millipede is the perfect little recycling creature

in nature, and what they are doing

is breaking down all the decomposing plant

matter that you'll find out there on the forest floor.

Whether it be leaves mushrooms or anything else that's

decomposing, honestly sometimes even dead animals,

they will help break that down and return it to the ecosystem.

Now the way that these creatures breathe is through a series

of small holes that run along the side of the body

called spiracles, and they are very, very

fragile considering the fact that they

have this rigid exoskeleton.

If it gets too hot-- so if this creature finds itself out

during the daylight-- it can actually

cook from the inside out.

It's also very susceptible to water.

So if it gets into an area where too much rainfall comes down,

they drown very easily.

So while maybe prehistoric looking in nature

and it's been here for millions of years,

it's actually pretty fragile when you break it all down.

And here's something that's cool,

and the reason I want it to feature this millipede

is because it is red and black and that red coloration, as you

guys know my favorite saying, aposematic coloration

is a warning to any potential predator that I may be toxic.

I'm not sure exactly how toxic this variety is,

but given that coloration, I'm willing to bet

that it is not something that you want to chomp down on.

The name millipede means 1,000 legs.

However, there is no millipede species in the world

that actually has 1,000 legs.

In fact, the millipede with the most number of legs

counts around 400.

Do we want to take the time

to count this millipede's legs?

I don't think so, but if I hold it up like this

and show you its underside, you can

see that each individual segment has two pairs of legs.

As this creature grows, each section

grows every time it sheds its exoskeleton,

so if you're out there walking through the underbrush

and you see a millipede and it looks like it's completely

white, that's actually not a dead millipede

but an exoskeleton that was left behind after a shedding.

That's so cool the way that they move.

Just a wave at a time with those legs.

Now you see those two little antenna-like

structure up front?

Those are actually sensory organs that help

them explore their environment.

Those help it find its food and also

can detect potential predators.

So why do they come out in so many numbers?

Well it's called

a drove when they come out.

So when the rain comes in, it moistens up the soil,

and they come out from underneath the leaf litter.

And what they're doing right now because everything is moist

is they're getting the opportunity

to feed their opportunity to lay eggs,

and their opportunity to do what they do,

which is break down the environment.

Now they do have little mouth parts, so unlike a centipede,

they don't have those big front pinching mandibles

that can inject venom.

But those little mouth parts are used to break down their food.

They don't have proper eyes, but they do have eyes that

are capable of sensing light.

So as the daylight creeps in, they begin to realize,

OK, I better tuck back down underneath a log or rock

so that I don't end up getting cooked.

Now, you know, they don't move very fast, Coyote,

but they actually can cover some ground.

They really can, and you can see

that about four or five sets of legs

move at a time, almost like a wave type motion.

And if they need to escape from something quickly,

they can move up to 20 sets of those legs at one time,

but in this instance, it feels pretty calm.

It's just trying to sense the environment by feeling my hand

and see it's looking for its next point of purchase.

There you go.

As long as I just keep placing my hands out

in front of the millipede, it will have

something else to walk onto.

Well, it certainly didn't take much searching for us

to get the red and black millipede,

also known as the shongololo up close for the cameras.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next location.