Wicked Bugs Quotes

“The male doesn't eat - it doesn't even have a mouth or an anus - so it does nothing but mate until death.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects

“The rat population thrived in such a horrible mess. Ironically, cats were believed to be the consorts of witches in those days, so they were killed. Persecution of cats during the Middle Ages nearly eliminated populations of the rat's natural predator, just when Europeans could have used the cats' hunting skills the most.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects

“The soldiers had, apparently, been given beehives filled with the honey of bees that had feasted on rhododendron and azalea, plants that produce neurotoxins so potent that they remain active in the honey. Those who eat the honey succumb to honey intoxication, also called grayanotoxin poisoning.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects

“Males approach with caution, first assessing whether the female has had anything to eat lately. If she looks well fed, the male has some hope of getting through the ordeal alive.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects

“Justin Schmidt, an entomologist who studies venomous stings, created the Schmidt Sting Pain Index to quantify the pain inflicted by ants and other stinging creatures. His surprisingly poetic descriptions give some order to the hierarchy of ant stings as compared to those of bees and wasps: 1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm. 1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch. 1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek. 2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door. 2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on tongue. 2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin. 3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail. 3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut. 4.0 Tarantula hawk: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath. 4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects

“An invasive European moth was to blame for a series of mysterious rashes among schoolchildren in northern Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1981, roughly a third of the children at two schools in Luzerne County suffered from rashes on their arms, necks, and legs.”
― Amy Stewart, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects