Psytalla horrida bite/sting

[Martsinsects]

Hello hello,

I'm thinking about getting Psytalla horrida. They are easy to take care for and their way of hunting is just cool. The only thing that makes me hesitate is the sting. I read the sting is bad but I can't find how bad it actually is. In a video someone told its only as bad as a bee/wasp sting but on forums I read its way worse. My question is: How bad is it?
I can handle a beestung but I can't handle a shitload of pain for a few days.

Thanks

 

[BoyFromLA]

I am constantly seeing questioning about how hurting their stings / bites are, but so far I hardly ever saw / read about people with actual happening. I’ve been keeping Psytalla horrida since 2019 without much worrying about their sting / bite. Ever since I’ve started keeping them, I never had single incident even an attempt of sting / bite of / by them, while feeding, rehousing, spot cleaning. They are more likely to mind their own business or to act skittish, move away from your hand. Though what I am implying here is NOT that they don’t / never sting / bite, but I don’t ever plan to get stung / bit by them.

I always be cautious when interacting (NOT handling them by any means) with them, and use long tweezers.

I am certain @chanda @jseng @Arthroverts can chime in, and give you more insights of them, and of their stings / bites.

 

[Edan bandoot]

i heard the sting is painful, but if you dont touch them its not a problem

 

[Matts inverts]

I can’t really find how painful it is. My assassin bugs have only tried to bite once, while trying to rehouse them. I can’t really say how painful the bite is, I do know not to get bit and be extremely careful if allergic to insect stings.

 

[Smotzer]

I can’t compare it but I was bit by a different assassin Arlius cristatus and that was not pleasant at all, it happened at work and bit me while gardening in the soft skin betweeen thumb and pointed finger, which is a delicate area to begin with. The pain was worse than than a normal bee sting noticeably, but the area became numb for about 2 days following that. Not sure if that is true across assassins or not but I wouldn’t handle them.

 

[chanda]

I can't tell you how painful it is - because I've never been bit by any of my assassins. I don't handle them, but I have had them crawl onto my hands occasionally during rehousing or cage cleaning. I just brush them off with a soft-bristled brush or let them walk onto a piece of egg crate. They don't seem terribly aggressive - except toward feeder crickets, of course!

 

[Martsinsects]

I can’t compare it but I was bit by a different assassin Arlius cristatus and that was not pleasant at all, it happened at work and bit me while gardening in the soft skin betweeen thumb and pointed finger, which is a delicate area to begin with. The pain was worse than than a normal bee sting noticeably, but the area became numb for about 2 days following that. Not sure if that is true across assassins or not but I wouldn’t handle them.

How much worse was it? Excruciating pain or just a bit more than a beesting?

 

[Edan bandoot]

How much worse was it? Excruciating pain or just a bit more than a beesting?

it wouldnt matter, they're far related.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Psytalla horrida spray !

So I’ve kept a small colony of ~10 subadult-adult Psytalla horrida for about 3 months now. First off, I noticed the first baby just a day ago! Super cute. Well about 10 minutes ago I was checking the colony to see if any new babies had developed... and I got sprayed in my right eye by one...

arachnoboards.com

heres a thread about psytalla venom spitting


and here on some on assassin bug venom potency in general

Assassin Bug Bite Reports?

www.reptileforums.co.uk

Assassin bug with the wosr bite?

Hey there, just curious to everyone's opinion on what species of assassin bug has the worst bite?

arachnoboards.com

Halloween special: My worst bug bite - Gil Wizen

Whether you are a professional entomologist or a hobbyist, working remotely or close to home, we all experience the occasional bug bite.

gilwizen.com

Platymeris sp mombo = little spitting monsters

ok well i have a spit report...( kinda like a bite or sting report) i took out my assassins the other day to show some friends that were over. i just took out 1 of the pieces of bark that is in thier enclosure so they could get a good look at them. done this many times. and i've never had a...

arachnoboards.com

overall i'd say you're very unlikely to get bit if you dont go sticking your fingers in places they shouldnt be.

 

[Joey Spijkers]

Psytalla horrida aren’t agressive at all, unless they know it’s food. At first i was really cautious not to touch them with my bare hands, but quite honestly, I now use my bare hands a bit more regularly because I just know the risk of getting stung is so small and if I were to get stung, it wouldn’t cause any serious issues, only pain (the extent of which seems to be unknown because stings are so rare).
I mainly keep scorpions, so I know how to keep an animal without ever touching it, I just don’t feel the need to treat the assassin bugs this way because the risks are so low.
When I was researching them before getting them, I was the same as you. Quickly after I actually got them, I realized that they are way more dangerous on paper than in real life haha. Still good to be cautious, so you’re 100% sure you will never get stung.

 

[Martsinsects]

I'm not really afraid to get stung and I know they are very peaceful but IF one escapes and it ends up in my bed or shoe I will be stung (duh, I would do the same) I know that the chance of escaping is very very tiny and its even more tiny for them to end up at a place they have to sting me. But just in case how much does it hurt? No one gave me a clear answer so far. People say: 'its bad, very bad.' but I wonder how bad. Will you feel like dying for a few hours? or is the pain less than that?

 

[pannaking22]

From what I've heard (no personal experience, so take with a grain of salt), Platymeris bites are worse than Psytalla. Not sure if it's the differences in the chemical cocktail they inject when biting or something else. That said, agreed with what everyone said above that they are very unlikely to bite. I've been bitten by a couple species of North American reduviid (totally my fault, accidentally crushing them in my shirt or something) and it definitely gets your attention, no matter what species it is.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Yeah. I just make sure I don't accidentally pinch one when lifting their cork bark pieces.

 

[Joey Spijkers]

I'm not really afraid to get stung and I know they are very peaceful but IF one escapes and it ends up in my bed or shoe I will be stung (duh, I would do the same) I know that the chance of escaping is very very tiny and its even more tiny for them to end up at a place they have to sting me. But just in case how much does it hurt? No one gave me a clear answer so far. People say: 'its bad, very bad.' but I wonder how bad. Will you feel like dying for a few hours? or is the pain less than that?

I don’t think anyone can give you a clear answer exactly because bites are so rare.

 

[RoachCoach]

Lived in the country most of my life. I've been stung and bit by nearly everything native because I am pretty stupid. But that's over almost a 40 year span. I've been stung in the neck by a wheel bug. It was by far, EASILY the worst insect bite to hit me. I walked off a 30% spontaneous pneumothorax as a teen. I would assume my pain threshold is ok at best. Pain is subjective ofc. Comparing it to anything is like comparing favorite foods. I hate melons, but most of you weirdos love them.
They are ridiculously skittish and not aggressive as others have said. If their sting is anything like Arilus Cristatus (which it obviously is at the very least) it will be debilitating with absolute certainty. You will not be walking it off, and your day will be forfeit. If you can't keep them without reliably containing them then you should probably start with a less hot bug. They could do serious harm to a child or pet. But watching them hunt is an absolute blast! Don't say we didn't warn you.

 

[Smotzer]

Lived in the country most of my life. I've been stung and bit by nearly everything native because I am pretty stupid. But that's over almost a 40 year span. I've been stung in the neck by a wheel bug. It was by far, EASILY the worst insect bite to hit me. I walked off a 30% spontaneous pneumothorax as a teen. I would assume my pain threshold is ok at best. Pain is subjective ofc. Comparing it to anything is like comparing favorite foods. I hate melons, but most of you weirdos love them.
They are ridiculously skittish and not aggressive as others have said. If their sting is anything like Arilus Cristatus (which it obviously is at the very least) it will be debilitating with absolute certainty. You will not be walking it off, and your day will be forfeit. If you can't keep them without reliably containing them then you should probably start with a less hot bug. They could do serious harm to a child or pet. But watching them hunt is an absolute blast! Don't say we didn't warn you.

Yeah it was not something I’d want to willingly get bit by again!!

 

[Sizzlipede]

Kings of Pain S2E6 featured a P. horrida bite. The hosts rated it a 10/10 in intensity, worse than anything they tested other than the beaded lizard.

 

[Joey Spijkers]

Kings of Pain S2E6 featured a P. horrida bite. The hosts rated it a 10/10 in intensity, worse than anything they tested other than the beaded lizard.

Damn, wouldn't have expected that necessarily.