In Memoriam: Justin O. Schmidt

TUSCON, Ariz. — Entomologist Justin Schmidt, “King of Sting,” passed away on Feb. 18 from Parkinson’s Disease, numerous news outlets, including Arizona Public Radio and KPNX-TV 12 News reported.

The University of Arizona researcher was best known for having created the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, rating some 80 insect stings from one to four, offering lyrical insight on bites he has “collected” during the last 30 years of field study, PCT reported in August 2016.

He authored  “The Sting of the Wild,” where he takes readers along on his wild expeditions to examine and extract the venom of stinging insects for study.

Schmidt grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania.

“My first real interest was when my sister had a section in class about insects and I was about 5 years old. She learned the different orders and common names of insects, and I thought that was pretty cool,” Schmidt told PCT.

As a biologist and chemist whose first love is bugs, Schmidt was fascinated by “the chemistry of communication.”

PCT will update this article as more information becomes available.