Anyone who has ever taken a wasp or marimbondo sting knows that this experience can be very traumatic and painful. However, we cannot deny that these insects are fascinating creatures and that there are species with very bizarre appearances, some of which may even be extremely dangerous - and even fatal - to humans.

With that in mind, we have assembled a series of curious wasps that, while some are dangerous and some totally harmless, are capable of frightening even those who don't give a lot of insects. Check out our picks below and tell in the comments which one you found most frightening or the one that most fooled you:

1 - Shaggy disguise

Image Source: Reproduction / Insects Morphology

After looking at the pet above, would you say it was a wasp? Well, despite not having wings like most of his colleagues, the insect of the figure - belonging to the family Multillidae, which has more than 3, 000 species - just pretends to be an ant. Also known as "cow killers" in the US, these colorful wasps are famous for the painful sting.

Cow-killer wasps may have other colors than red, such as gold, silver and white, and they are usually found in sandy and desert regions.

2 - Moicana

Image Source: Reproduction / The Featured Creature

Belonging to the Eucharitidae family, these curious wasps do not fly around with this Mohawk “hairstyle” because they are stylish, no! They are parasitoid-like, which means they take advantage of other organisms to survive, eventually killing their hosts. In the specific case of the Mohawk wasps, they only attack the ants - phew! - depositing their larvae in the poor.

The larvae are then taken to the colonies, where they grow and feed on the ants. Eucharitidae are commonly found in tropical and warm areas, although they may also inhabit subtropical regions. The good news - if you are not an ant - is that these wasps do not attack humans because the structure normally used for this was modified to deposit the larvae on the bodies of the hosts.

3 - Asian giant

Image Source: Playback / LISTVERSE

Also known as the mandarin wasp, this huge insect can be up to 5 inches long and has a 7.5 cm wingspan. In addition to its frightening size and painful sting, its potent venom contains an enzyme capable of dissolving human tissue, as well as a pheromone that attracts other wasps to attack.

As if that weren't enough, these damn giants are capable of stinging repeatedly and, if they wish, can sneeze the poison and travel more than 50 miles in a single day. Every year they cause many people to die, but luckily, they often focus on the Nagano region of Japan.

4 - Tarantula Hunter

Image Source: Reproduction / National Geographic

Owner of one of the most painful stings on the planet, the hunting wasp, as well as the giant Asian, can also reach five centimeters in length. And if you are wondering why they are called “hunters”, it is because of their custom to attack and devour tarantulas!

Although these wasps prefer to feed on spiders, they also attack humans when they feel threatened. And unlike mandarin oranges, which are concentrated in a specific region of Japan, hunters can be found in Africa, Australia, India, southwest Asia and, unfortunately, throughout the Americas.

5 - It seems, but it isn't!

Image Source: Playback / Flickr

More like a mixture between wasp and mantis, the Mantispidae insects, despite their frightening appearance, do not have stingers, so they pose no danger to humans. In fact, they are quite interesting, with retractable front paws that serve to catch small prey.

Mantispids are insects of the Neuroptera Order that, despite their resemblance to mantis, are very distant from these animals and probably adopted the same appearance - with the characteristic black and yellow stripes - by evolutionary convergence to chase away predators.