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Head Louse (Pediculus humanus capitis)
Medical importance
79Six Legs
Bug Bite · From the file on Head Louse

Head lice do NOT transmit any human disease — unlike body lice, which carry typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever.

AgencyCDCVerified by sources
Read the full file on Head Louse

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Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia)
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30–50 people die annually from Asian giant hornet stings in Japan — most from systemic venom load, not anaphylaxis.

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Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius)
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Despite their reputation, bed bugs do not transmit disease to humans — there is no documented case of pathogen transmission via bed bug bite.

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Human Botfly (Dermatobia hominis)
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Despite the unsettling lifecycle, botfly larvae don't transmit disease. The infection is confined to one small site under the skin.

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Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer)
Medical importance
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A peptide from wandering spider venom (PnTx2-6) is in clinical trials as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer)
Medical importance
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Brazilian antivenom developed in 1925 has reduced wandering-spider bite mortality to under 0.5% of cases.

Deathstalker Scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus)
Medical importance
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Deathstalker venom contains chlorotoxin — a peptide so specific to brain-tumor cells that surgeons use it as a fluorescent 'tumor paint' during brain surgery.

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