Riker Mounted Pepsis Tarantula Hawk Wasp

Armed with one of the most painful stings on the planet, tarantula hawks have specifically evolved to hunt tarantulas. Despite their name, tarantula hawks (Pepsis genus) are actually a species of spider wasp. Tarantula hawks can reach up to 4.5 inches long. Not only do these fearsome flyers get ridiculously large for a wasp, they pack quite a punch. For humans and other vertebrates, the tarantula hawk has one of the most painful stings on the planet. American entomologist Justin Schmidt created the Pain Scale for Stinging Insects, with the help of variably willing or unwitting test subjects. He once described the tarantula hawk's sting as 'instantaneous, electrifying and totally debilitating'. Sounds like fun right? The tarantula hawk sits comfortably at second place on the Schmidt's sting pain index, beaten only by the South American bullet ant. Roadrunners are one of the few animals that will risk being stung by their fearsome stingers in order to feed on tarantula hawks. A very brav