原文: 9 Small But Incredibly Dangerous Creatures

While the creatures that scare humans most are usually large, it is the smallest that are probably the most dangerous and painful. While we can be thankful that most of us will not experience the suffering caused by the creatures on this list, many people do every year. This is not a list of the most deadly, but rather the most dangerous or painful creatures. The list excludes creatures from the sea.

Ticks are second only to Mosquitoes for their disease spreading properties. Ticks feed on blood and attach themselves to other animals (including humans). They can be difficult to remove and removal must be done carefully as they can leave part of their head behind causing serious infection. According to Wikipedia, hard ticks can transmit human diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, equine encephalitis, Colorado tick fever, African Tick Bite Fever, and several forms of ehrlichiosis.

Tarantula hawks are named for the fact that they hunt tarantulas as food for their larvae. It’s sting is rated as one of the most painful in the world (though not as painful as the bullet ant). One researcher described the sting as causing “[…] immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.” The Tarantula Hawk is the official state insect of New Mexico.

A large biting fly fom Africa that feeds on the blood of vertebrate animals. They are known to cause Sleeping Sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. Sleeping sickness is a parasitic disease in people and animals that is caused by Trypanosoma, a protozoa transmitted by the tsetse fly. The symptoms for sleeping sickness begin with fever and headache then a swell on the back of the neck. Afterwards, the victim may experience daytime slumber and insomnia. It could lead to death afterwards.

Also called killer bees, are descendants of 26 Tanzanian queen bees that bred with other species after they were accidentally released from a hive in Brazil. What makes the bees deadly is their defensive nature and tendency to swarm. Also, they tend to follow victims even when already far from the hive. This aggressiveness when attacking potential threats ensure a very painful death for the victim. The venom that they secrete, however, is just as potent as a honey bee’s.

A species of scorpion that is highly dangerous because of its venom. The venom is actually a powerful mixture of neurotoxins. Although, the poison would not kill a healthy adult, it could be fatal to kids and the elderly. Ironically, a component of the venom (peptide chlorotoxin) has the potential to cure human brain tumors while the other toxins may help against diabetes.

One of the most well-known spiders, especially because its venom could be fatal to humans. The venom is said to be more potent than that of rattlesnakes, however, their size and the amount secreted reduce its effectiveness. Both male and female have an hourglass shaped marking underneath their abdomen. The females are relatively larger than the males and contrary to popular belief, the females rarely eat the males after mating.

While not dangerous on their own, these ants live and travel in swarms. They are found mostly in Africa and Asia and they build temporary anthills while traveling. The greatest risk these ants pose to humans is when they are swarming through homes. When food supplies are low, these ants will swarm in sizes of up to 50 million single ants. There are reports of humans - usually young or infirm being killed through suffocation (the ants will often enter the lungs of the person) and be entirely consumed. Their mandibles are so strong that in some parts of Africa they are used individually as emergency sutures when medical supplies are not available.

A bite from a Bullet ant will not kill you, but you will never forget it. The Bullet ant (thus named because a bite feels like being shot) inflicts the most painful bite of any creature known to man. It is number one on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index where it is described as causing “waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours”.

Deemed the most dangerous creature on Earth. This mosquito causes more than 300 million cases of malaria annually, which results in between 1 to 3 million deaths. They can also carry dengue, elephantiasis, and yellow fever. They are usually active during the nightime so one way to protect yourself is to apply insect-repellents and wear longer sleeves.

Contributor: patholdenmd

译文: 九种小而出奇危险的生物

      虽然使人类心惊肉跳的物种多是些庞然大物，但最危险的往往是那些不起眼的小不点。尽管大多人能幸免于以下黑名单中的瘟神带来的灾难，但每年仍有那么一些人厄运难逃。这里罗列的并不是那些最致命的物种，而是那些最危险又最给人以痛苦的。海中生活的部分除外。

9.   虱子

     虱子传播疾病的能力仅次于蚊子，居第二位。它们寄生在动物身上（包括人类），靠吸血为生。这种害虫很难清除掉，清除的时候一定要格外小心，因为它们有可能把头留下，随后导致多种疾病的感染。根据维基百科解释，硬虱能传播人类疾病如莱姆症、黑色热、野兔病、马脑炎、科罗拉多蜱传热、非洲虱叮热及多种埃里克体病等。

8.   狼蛛鹰

      狼蛛鹰得名于它们靠捕食狼蜘蛛喂养幼虫。它们的刺被评为世界上刺人最疼的刺之一（虽然还是比不上子弹蚁）。一位研究者描述这种刺带来的疼痛 “...立刻，极度的痛苦使人丧失了做事情的能力，大概只能够尖叫。这种情况下，精神的自制毫无作用”狼蛛鹰是新墨西哥州的州虫。

7.   舌蝇

      这是一种来自非洲的大型叮人蝇，靠吸食脊椎动物的血液为生。它们以在人身上传染昏睡病及在牛体内引起那加那病闻名。

      昏睡病是在人和动物之间流行的一种流行病，由锥虫属引起，这是一种由舌蝇传播的单细胞病菌。昏睡病      发生的征兆是首先患者表现为发烧头痛，接着便会颈后肿胀，然后是整天持续的昏睡和失眠，最终有可能导致死亡。

6.   非洲蜂

      这种蜂也称作杀手蜂，由二十六只不经意引入巴西的坦桑尼亚蜂和其它物种交配繁衍而来。这些蜂的致命之处是它们强烈的抵御性和集群流动的倾向。同时，哪怕远离了蜂巢它们仍然会不停的追击受害者。当它们攻击潜在威胁时，这种强烈的攻击性使得受害者极度痛苦的死去。

5.   死亡之蝎

      这种蝎子因其剧毒的毒液而危险异常。事实上，这种毒液是一种功能强大的神经毒液混合物。虽然这种毒尚不能够杀死一位健康的成人，但对老人和小孩却是致命的。具有讽刺意味的是，这种毒液的部分成分（缩氨酸 氯代毒素）却有治愈脑肿瘤的潜能，而其余的成分则有抗糖尿病作用。

4.   黑寡妇

      这是最知名的蜘蛛之一，尤其是其致命的毒液。据说这种毒液比响尾蛇的还要毒，但它们的个头太小，分泌的毒液太少，消弱了毒液的威力。这种蛛雄性和雌性的腹部皆有沙漏状的条纹。雌性个头略大。与传说不同的是，交尾后，雌性很少吃掉雄性。

3.   兵蚁

      尽管它们自身并没有什么危险，但这种蚁群居并集群流动。它们主要生活在非洲和亚洲，在行进的时候，兵蚁会建造临时的蚁山。它们对人类造成的最大危害产生在集群流动，横扫住所之时。食物供应不足，兵蚁便会组成一个由多达五千万个体组成的流动群体。

      有报道称，曾有人—其中多是小孩或病弱者被窒息杀死（这种蚂蚁会钻入人的肺部），然后被整个的吞噬掉。它们的上颚非常坚硬，医疗供应不足时，非洲有些地方甚至单个把他们用来紧急缝合伤口。

2.   子弹蚁

      被子弹蚁咬一口，你也许无生命之忧，但保证让你终身难忘。在人类已知的所有生物中，子弹蚁的叮咬是最疼痛的（被叮之后，如遭枪击，以故名之）。在施密特螫疼痛指数排行榜上，这种疼痛名列第一，它被描述为“火辣辣的灼烧感，阵阵抽痛，钻心的疼，二十四小时毫不减弱”。

1.   按蚊

      这种蚊子被是为地球上最危险的物种，每年因这种蚊子感染疟疾的人多达上百万，其中一至三百万最终死亡。它们同时能携带登革热、象皮病、黄热病等病菌。这种蚊子在夜间活动最活跃，所以一种有效保护自己的方法是涂防虫水并且穿上长袖。