Here are the top 8 most dangerous critters in the world:

1. The tiger mosquito

The tiger mosquito is the most deadly animal for humans. A vector of deadly or serious diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya or the Zika virus, it kills approximately 725 people each year.

Photo credit: Gordon Zammit – thinkstockphotos.fr

2. The Reduviidae or reduve

Its name comes from Latin reduviæ, which means spoils, because it sucks the blood and flesh of its prey. In English, it bears the sweet name ofAssassin bug (killer insect). Indeed, the reduves cause 10 deaths per year.

It is not their bite that is dangerous, but their droppings. Once bitten, we scratch and promote the penetration of the parasite, which causes Chagas disease, a fatal disease if not treated in time.

Photo credit: Alexandre Ribeiro dos Santos – thinkstockphotos.fr

3. The tsetse fly

The tsetse fly also causes around 10 deaths per year because it can carry a virus that transmits African trypanosomiasis, better known as sleeping sickness. This disease is endemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and is fatal when left untreated.

Photo credit: Geoffrey Attardo – thinkstockphotos.fr

4. The Lonomia Obliqua chenille

If you have the misfortune to rub against a caterpillar of the genus Lonomia Obliqua, an hour after you notice some redness, you will be dizzy, then nausea, your eyesight will be blurred and lesions will start to appear on your skin. Then kidney problems will occur and you will be in an irreversible coma two days later. Finally, only if you are stuck in the middle of the Amazon rainforest without access to help, because a treatment has been developed.

Crédit photo : Santa Catarina Toxicology Information Center — Wikimedia Commons

5. Phoneutria or Spider-banana

Phoneutria are found in banana plantations. One bite of this spider is enough to kill a man. The venom releases a powerful neurotoxin that blocks the transmission of nerve signals to the muscles. Breathing becomes difficult and the muscles stiffen. In men, the bite also causes a very painful erection that can last for several hours. Fortunately, an antivenom does exist.

Photo credit: ivkuzmin – thinkstockphotos.fr

6. The black widow

Black widow’s venom or Latrodectus mactans is a peripheral neurotoxicant, the most dangerous of all the animal world. It causes the release of acetylcholine and catecholamines. This spider, which measures 1 to 1,5 cm, can be recognized by the red spot it wears on its back.

The pain is not felt until 10 to 15 minutes after the bite. It results in: pain at the injection site, muscle contractures, abdominal pain, back pain, headache and finally by neurovegetative dystonia, an antivenom also exists for black widow bites.

Photo credit: KIKA_PHOTO – thinkstockphotos.fr

7. L’Atrax

The Atrax Robustus is certainly the most formidable of tarantulas. This city spider with aggressive behavior can grow up to 7 cm in length and its venom is very poisonous. Its very powerful chelicerae can pass through a shoe or a pair of jeans. Its bite causes severe pain and its neurotoxic venom disrupts the functioning of the nervous system.

In the 1980s, after it claimed many lives in Australia, an antidote was developed.

Crédit photo : By Tirin at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via wikimedia commons

8. La Paraponera

The Paraponera is an ant that lives in tropical forests. It is also called a rifle bullet ant because of its sting, the pain of which is comparable to that of a gunshot. Pain can be felt for up to 24 hours after the bite.

Crédit photo : Graham Wise from Brisbane, Australia (Paraponera clavata) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Some indigenous Amazonian populations of Brazil and French Guiana use ants of the genus Paraponera in their rite of passage for boys at the time of puberty. The initiate must show his ability to resist pain in the most stoic way possible.

Here is the video of an Australian who tried the experiment: