fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna , researchers have discovered . dating back hundreds of thousands of years , the instinct to avoid arachnids developed as an evolutionary response to a dangerous threat , the academics suggest . it could mean that arachnophobia , one of the most crippling of phobias , represents a finely tuned survival instinct . and it could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom have existed millions of years ago . a bus driver who was caught reading a newspaper while driving has been slammed by his boss as a ` complete idiot ' . a passenger filmed the driver on a bus in auckland , new zealand , and sent the video to bus company ritchies coachlines along with a complaint . in the footage the driver can be seen flicking through pages of the newspaper while the bus is in motion . by . emma innes . most of us get stung by an insect occasionally and grumble about it for a couple of minutes before forgetting about it . not so for one researcher from arizona . scroll down for video . researchers say a fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna and dates back thousands of years , stock photo . study leader joshua new , of columbia university in new york , said : ` a number of spider species with potent , vertebratespecific venoms populated africa long before hominoids and have co-existed there for tens of millions of years . ` humans were at perennial , unpredictable and significant risk of encountering highly venomous spiders in their ancestral environments . ` even when not fatal , a black widow spider bite in the ancestral world could leave one incapacitated for days or even weeks , terribly exposed to dangers , ' he told the sunday times . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the votes are in and michael jackson is your number one global music icon . almost 100,000 of you voted to tell us that the self-styled `` king of pop , '' who died suddenly in june 2009 , is the musician you rate above all others . british pop group the beatles , late canto pop sensation leslie cheung , rock 'n' roller elvis presley and reggae godfather bob marley also made the top five . no female artists made the list , although u.s. pop queen , madonna came in at number six , narrowly missing a place . last month cnn 's arts and culture program , icon , asked you to vote for your top five most iconic musicians of all time . this month , we want to know your thoughts on the most iconic 20th century painters . salvador dali perhaps ? picasso ? or maybe andy warhol ? click here to vote . justin schmidt , from the southwestern . biological institute , has been stung so many times that he decided to . create a pain scale to rate the insects ' stings . justin schmidt has been stung so many times he decided to create a pain scale to rate insects ' stings . he says that the most painful is a bullet ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- which he says ` makes you want to lay down and die ' we 'll reveal your top five on september 23 when the next show airs . scroll down for video . a bus driver was caught reading a newspaper while driving in auckland , new zealand . the research team carried out an experiment in which 252 volunteers were asked to study computer screens containing abstract shapes and data . their reactions to images of spiders were very fast , even if their shape was distorted , when compared to much more clear images of other objects known induce disgust or fear , such as needles and flies . mr schmidt 's scale ranges from zero to four , with a one being a minor reaction , and four being the worst pain you can imagine . mr schmidt explained to weather.com what a one on the scale would be . fire ant - one -lrb- pain lasts two to four minutes -rrb- . honeybee - two -lrb- pain lasts up to ten minutes -rrb- . bumblebee - two -lrb- pain for up to five minutes -rrb- . as the bus slows to a stop at a set of traffic lights he moves his head to get a good look at one of the pages . the researchers point out that spiders are often small dark creatures that tend to hide in recesses and are hard to spot . german yellowjacket - two -lrb- pain lasts four to ten minutes -rrb- . dr new said : ` detection , therefore , is the critical arbiter of success in such encounters -- any improvements to the sensitivity , vigilance , reliability and speed of faculties for their detection would have been of significant selective advantage . ' the instinct could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom existed millions of years ago . pictured : a venomous phormictopus antillensis spider . velvet ant - three -lrb- pain for up to 30 minutes -rrb- . harvester ant - three -lrb- pain for one to eight hours -rrb- . paper wasp - three -lrb- pain for five to 15 minutes -rrb- . warrior wasp - four -lrb- pain for up to two hours -rrb- . tarantula hawk - four -lrb- pain for three minutes -rrb- . ritchies coachlines boss andrew ritchie said he was embarrassed by the ` idiot ' driver 's actions . ' i am absolutely amazed by how absolutely stupid the guy is . bloody irresponsible behaviour to the first degree , i ca n't believe it , ' mr ritchie told the new zealand herald . ` the people on that bus put their trust in him . he was n't even trying to hide it , he was holding the whole newspaper open , over the steering wheel . ' mr ritchie said the driver would be disciplined , but would not go into detail . a passenger filmed the driver and sent the video to bus company ritchies coachlines along with a complaint . ritchies coachlines boss andrew ritchie said he was embarrassed by the ` idiot ' driver 's actions . bullet ant - four -lrb- pain for 12 to 24 hours -rrb- . he said it would cause a sharp pain but would not be enough to make you drop your drink . however , he goes on to explain how he . would describe a four -- this would be a creature such as a tarantula . hawk , which he says feels like being hit by 20,000 volts . not only would it make you drop your drink , it would make you throw it across the room , he says . he told weather.com that a bullet ant has the most painful sting he has encountered . he said : ` they just make you want to lay down and die . you are just screaming in pain and agony . ' in contrast , he said that the sting of a fire ant is much less painful . he said : ` they have this kind of sharp , piercing sting . ` your immediate reaction is `` brush those things off '' . that 's all its going to do to you . ' mr schmidt ranks the bug 's stings from zero to four with four being the worst pain imaginable . he rated the sting of the tarantula hawk -lrb- pictured -rrb- a four . mr schmidt believes he has been stung by 150 different bugs . he rates the sting of the fire ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- a one and says the pain lasts between two and four minutes . according to mr schmidt 's scale , a fire ant has one of the least painful stings -- a one on his scale -- honeybees and bumblebees ' stings score a two , and the stings of warrior wasps , bullet ants , and tarantula hawks score four . he claims to have been stung by about 150 different insects while travelling the world but says it does n't worry him , as none of the insects ' bites have a lasting impact . mr schmidt says that the pain from a honeybee -lrb- pictured -rrb- sting ranks at two on his scale and lasts for up to ten minutes .
instinct to avoid arachnids developed as evolutionary response to threat . scientists say it could mean arachnophobia represents survival instinct . could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom existed millions of years ago .
fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna , researchers have discovered . dating back hundreds of thousands of years , the instinct to avoid arachnids developed as an evolutionary response to a dangerous threat , the academics suggest . it could mean that arachnophobia , one of the most crippling of phobias , represents a finely tuned survival instinct . and it could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom have existed millions of years ago . a bus driver who was caught reading a newspaper while driving has been slammed by his boss as a ` complete idiot ' . a passenger filmed the driver on a bus in auckland , new zealand , and sent the video to bus company ritchies coachlines along with a complaint . in the footage the driver can be seen flicking through pages of the newspaper while the bus is in motion . by . emma innes . most of us get stung by an insect occasionally and grumble about it for a couple of minutes before forgetting about it . not so for one researcher from arizona . scroll down for video . researchers say a fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna and dates back thousands of years , stock photo . study leader joshua new , of columbia university in new york , said : ` a number of spider species with potent , vertebratespecific venoms populated africa long before hominoids and have co-existed there for tens of millions of years . ` humans were at perennial , unpredictable and significant risk of encountering highly venomous spiders in their ancestral environments . ` even when not fatal , a black widow spider bite in the ancestral world could leave one incapacitated for days or even weeks , terribly exposed to dangers , ' he told the sunday times . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the votes are in and michael jackson is your number one global music icon . almost 100,000 of you voted to tell us that the self-styled `` king of pop , '' who died suddenly in june 2009 , is the musician you rate above all others . british pop group the beatles , late canto pop sensation leslie cheung , rock 'n' roller elvis presley and reggae godfather bob marley also made the top five . no female artists made the list , although u.s. pop queen , madonna came in at number six , narrowly missing a place . last month cnn 's arts and culture program , icon , asked you to vote for your top five most iconic musicians of all time . this month , we want to know your thoughts on the most iconic 20th century painters . salvador dali perhaps ? picasso ? or maybe andy warhol ? click here to vote . justin schmidt , from the southwestern . biological institute , has been stung so many times that he decided to . create a pain scale to rate the insects ' stings . justin schmidt has been stung so many times he decided to create a pain scale to rate insects ' stings . he says that the most painful is a bullet ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- which he says ` makes you want to lay down and die ' we 'll reveal your top five on september 23 when the next show airs . scroll down for video . a bus driver was caught reading a newspaper while driving in auckland , new zealand . the research team carried out an experiment in which 252 volunteers were asked to study computer screens containing abstract shapes and data . their reactions to images of spiders were very fast , even if their shape was distorted , when compared to much more clear images of other objects known induce disgust or fear , such as needles and flies . mr schmidt 's scale ranges from zero to four , with a one being a minor reaction , and four being the worst pain you can imagine . mr schmidt explained to weather.com what a one on the scale would be . fire ant - one -lrb- pain lasts two to four minutes -rrb- . honeybee - two -lrb- pain lasts up to ten minutes -rrb- . bumblebee - two -lrb- pain for up to five minutes -rrb- . as the bus slows to a stop at a set of traffic lights he moves his head to get a good look at one of the pages . the researchers point out that spiders are often small dark creatures that tend to hide in recesses and are hard to spot . german yellowjacket - two -lrb- pain lasts four to ten minutes -rrb- . dr new said : ` detection , therefore , is the critical arbiter of success in such encounters -- any improvements to the sensitivity , vigilance , reliability and speed of faculties for their detection would have been of significant selective advantage . ' the instinct could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom existed millions of years ago . pictured : a venomous phormictopus antillensis spider . velvet ant - three -lrb- pain for up to 30 minutes -rrb- . harvester ant - three -lrb- pain for one to eight hours -rrb- . paper wasp - three -lrb- pain for five to 15 minutes -rrb- . warrior wasp - four -lrb- pain for up to two hours -rrb- . tarantula hawk - four -lrb- pain for three minutes -rrb- . ritchies coachlines boss andrew ritchie said he was embarrassed by the ` idiot ' driver 's actions . ' i am absolutely amazed by how absolutely stupid the guy is . bloody irresponsible behaviour to the first degree , i ca n't believe it , ' mr ritchie told the new zealand herald . ` the people on that bus put their trust in him . he was n't even trying to hide it , he
fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna , researchers have discovered . dating back hundreds of thousands of years , the instinct to avoid arachnids developed as an evolutionary response to a dangerous threat , the academics suggest . it could mean that arachnophobia , one of the most crippling of phobias , represents a finely tuned survival instinct . and it could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom have existed millions of years ago . a bus driver who was caught reading a newspaper while driving has been slammed by his boss as a ` complete idiot ' . a passenger filmed the driver on a bus in auckland , new zealand , and sent the video to bus company ritchies coachlines along with a complaint . in the footage the driver can be seen flicking through pages of the newspaper while the bus is in motion . by . emma innes . most of us get stung by an insect occasionally and grumble about it for a couple of minutes before forgetting about it . not so for one researcher from arizona . scroll down for video . researchers say a fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna and dates back thousands of years , stock photo . study leader joshua new , of columbia university in new york , said : ` a number of spider species with potent , vertebratespecific venoms populated africa long before hominoids and have co-existed there for tens of millions of years . ` humans were at perennial , unpredictable and significant risk of encountering highly venomous spiders in their ancestral environments . ` even when not fatal , a black widow spider bite in the ancestral world could leave one incapacitated for days or even weeks , terribly exposed to dangers , ' he told the sunday times . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the votes are in and michael jackson is your number one global music icon . almost 100,000 of you voted to tell us that the self-styled `` king of pop , '' who died suddenly in june 2009 , is the musician you rate above all others . british pop group the beatles , late canto pop sensation leslie cheung , rock 'n' roller elvis presley and reggae godfather bob marley also made the top five . no female artists made the list , although u.s. pop queen , madonna came in at number six , narrowly missing a place . last month cnn 's arts and culture program , icon , asked you to vote for your top five most iconic musicians of all time . this month , we want to know your thoughts on the most iconic 20th century painters . salvador dali perhaps ? picasso ? or maybe andy warhol ? click here to vote . justin schmidt , from the southwestern . biological institute , has been stung so many times that he decided to . create a pain scale to rate the insects ' stings . justin schmidt has been stung so many times he decided to create a pain scale to rate insects ' stings . he says that the most painful is a bullet ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- which he says ` makes you want to lay down and die ' we 'll reveal your top five on september 23 when the next show airs . scroll down for video . a bus driver was caught reading a newspaper while driving in auckland , new zealand . the research team carried out an experiment in which 252 volunteers were asked to study computer screens containing abstract shapes and data . their reactions to images of spiders were very fast , even if their shape was distorted , when compared to much more clear images of other objects known induce disgust or fear , such as needles and flies . mr schmidt 's scale ranges from zero to four , with a one being a minor reaction , and four being the worst pain you can imagine . mr schmidt explained to weather.com what a one on the scale would be . fire ant - one -lrb- pain lasts two to four minutes -rrb- . honeybee - two -lrb- pain lasts up to ten minutes -rrb- . bumblebee - two -lrb- pain for up to five minutes -rrb- . as the bus slows to a stop at a set of traffic lights he moves his head to get a good look at one of the pages . the researchers point out that spiders are often small dark creatures that tend to hide in recesses and are hard to spot . german yellowjacket - two -lrb- pain lasts four to ten minutes -rrb- . dr new said : ` detection , therefore , is the critical arbiter of success in such encounters -- any improvements to the sensitivity , vigilance , reliability and speed of faculties for their detection would have been of significant selective advantage . ' the instinct could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom existed millions of years ago . pictured : a venomous phormictopus antillensis spider . velvet ant - three -lrb- pain for up to 30 minutes while travelling the world but says it does n't worry him , as none of the insects ' bites have a lasting impact . mr schmidt says that the pain from a honeybee -lrb- pictured -rrb- sting ranks at two on his scale and lasts for up to ten minutes .
fear spiders a survival trait written our dna, researchers. dating hundreds of thousands, the instinct avoid arachnids developed a dangerous threat the academics suggest it could mean arachnophobia, one crippling represents a finely tuned survival instinct and it could date early human evolution in africa, where spiders with very strong venom have existed millions a bus driver reading has slammed a ` complete idiot. a passenger filmed the driver on auckland, new zealand, sent bus company ritchies coachlines along. in the footage the driver can flicking pages while the bus. by. emma innes. most get stung an insect occasionally grumble forgetting. not so for one researcher from arizona. scroll. researchers say a fear spiders a survival trait written our dna dates, stock photo. study leader joshua new, of columbia university new york : ` a number spider species with potent, vertebratespecific venoms populated africa long hominoids have co there. ` humans were at perennial, unpredictable and significant risk encountering highly venomous spiders their ancestral environments. ` even when not fatal, a black widow spider bite in the ancestral world could leave one incapacitated terribly exposed dangers ' he told the sunday times -lrb- cnn -- the votes and michael jackson your number one global music icon. almost of you voted tell the self-styled `` king pop, '' who died suddenly june 2009 the musician you rate above. british pop group the beatles, late canto pop sensation leslie cheung rock 'n' roller elvis presley and reggae godfather bob marley also made top. no female artists made, although u.s. pop queen, madonna came six narrowly a place. last month cnn 's arts and culture program, icon, asked you your top five most iconic musicians this month, want know the most iconic 20th century painters. salvador dali perhaps? picasso? or maybe andy warhol? click vote. justin schmidt, from the southwestern. biological institute, has stung so he decided. create a pain scale rate the insects ' stings. justin schmidt has stung so decided create a pain scale rate insects ' stings. he says most painful is a bullet ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- which ` makes lay ' we 'll reveal top five on september 23 when next show. scroll. a bus driver caught reading auckland, new zealand. the research team carried 252 volunteers study computer screens containing abstract shapes data. their reactions images spiders were very fast, even their shape distorted when much more clear images other objects known induce disgust or such needles flies mr schmidt 's scale ranges zero four, a one being a minor reaction, four the worst pain you mr schmidt explained weather.com a one on the scale. fire ant - one -lrb- pain lasts. honeybee - two -lrb- pain lasts. bumblebee - two -lrb- pain for. as the bus slows a set he moves get one the pages. the researchers point spiders often small dark creatures tend hide recesses hard. german yellowjacket - two -lrb- pain lasts. dr new said : ` detection, therefore, is the critical arbiter success such encounters -- any improvements the sensitivity, vigilance reliability speed faculties for their detection would of significant selective advantage. ' the instinct could date early human evolution in africa where spiders with very strong venom existed millions pictured : a venomous phormictopus antillensis spider. velvet ant - three -lrb- pain for -rrb-. harvester ant - three -lrb- pain for one to eight hours. paper wasp - three -lrb- pain for five to 15 minutes. warrior wasp - four -lrb- pain for. tarantula hawk - four -lrb- pain for three minutes. ritchies coachlines boss andrew ritchie said embarrassed the ` idiot ' driver 's actions. ' i am absolutely amazed absolutely stupid the guy. bloody irresponsible behaviour to the first degree, i ca n't believe ' mr ritchie told the new zealand herald. ` the people on that bus put. he n't even trying hide, holding the whole newspaper open over the steering wheel ' mr ritchie said the driver would disciplined, would go a passenger filmed the driver and sent bus company ritchies coachlines along. ritchies coachlines boss andrew ritchie said embarrassed the ` idiot ' driver 's actions. bullet ant - four -lrb- pain for. he said it cause a sharp pain but would enough you drop. however, he goes. would describe four -- this a creature such. hawk, which he says feels being hit 20,000 volts not only would you drop your drink, throw across he says he told weather.com a bullet ant has the most painful sting he encountered. he said : ` they just make want lay. you just screaming in agony. ' in contrast, he the sting a fire ant is much. he said : ` they this kind sharp, piercing sting. ` your immediate reaction `` brush those things ''. that 's all its going. ' mr schmidt ranks the bug 's stings from zero with four being the worst pain imaginable. he rated the sting the tarantula hawk -lrb- pictured a four. mr schmidt believes stung 150 different bugs. he rates the sting the fire ant -lrb- pictured a one and says the pain lasts between. according mr schmidt 's scale a fire ant one the least painful stings -- one on his scale honeybees and bumblebees ' stings score two, warrior wasps bullet ants tarantula hawks score four he claims stung about 150 different insects while travelling but does n't worry, as none the insects ' bites have a lasting impact. mr schmidt says the pain from a honeybee -lrb- pictured sting ranks two on and lasts.
fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna , researchers have discovered . dating back hundreds of thousands of years , the instinct to avoid arachnids developed as an evolutionary response to a dangerous threat , the academics suggest . it could mean that arachnophobia , one of the most crippling of phobias , represents a finely tuned survival instinct . and it could date back to early human evolution in africa , where spiders with very strong venom have existed millions of years ago . a bus driver who was caught reading a newspaper while driving has been slammed by his boss as a ` complete idiot ' . a passenger filmed the driver on a bus in auckland , new zealand , and sent the video to bus company ritchies coachlines along with a complaint . in the footage the driver can be seen flicking through pages of the newspaper while the bus is in motion . by . emma innes . most of us get stung by an insect occasionally and grumble about it for a couple of minutes before forgetting about it . not so for one researcher from arizona . scroll down for video . researchers say a fear of spiders is a survival trait written into our dna and dates back thousands of years , stock photo . study leader joshua new , of columbia university in new york , said : ` a number of spider species with potent , vertebratespecific venoms populated africa long before hominoids and have co-existed there for tens of millions of years . ` humans were at perennial , unpredictable and significant risk of encountering highly venomous spiders in their ancestral environments . ` even when not fatal , a black widow spider bite in the ancestral world could leave one incapacitated for days or even weeks , terribly exposed to dangers , ' he told the sunday times . -lrb- cnn -rrb- -- the votes are in and michael jackson is your number one global music icon . almost 100,000 of you voted to tell us that the self-styled `` king of pop , '' who died suddenly in june 2009 , is the musician you rate above all others . british pop group the beatles , late canto pop sensation leslie cheung , rock 'n' roller elvis presley and reggae godfather bob marley also made the top five . no female artists made the list , although u.s. pop queen , madonna came in at number six , narrowly missing a place . last month cnn 's arts and culture program , icon , asked you to vote for your top five most iconic musicians of all time . this month , we want to know your thoughts on the most iconic 20th century painters . salvador dali perhaps ? picasso ? or maybe andy warhol ? click here to vote . justin schmidt , from the southwestern . biological institute , has been stung so many times that he decided to . create a pain scale to rate the insects ' stings . justin schmidt has been stung so many times he decided to create a pain scale to rate insects ' stings . he says that the most painful is a bullet ant -lrb- pictured -rrb- which he says ` makes you want to lay down and die ' we 'll reveal your top five on september 23 when the next show airs . scroll down for video . a bus driver was caught reading a newspaper while driving in auckland , new zealand . the research team carried out an experiment in which 252 volunteers were asked to study computer screens containing abstract shapes and data . their reactions to images of spiders were very fast , even if their shape was distorted , when compared to much more clear images of other objects known induce disgust or fear , such as needles and flies . mr schmidt 's scale ranges from zero to four , with a one being a minor reaction , and four being the worst pain you can imagine . mr schmidt explained to weather.com what a one on the scale would be . fire ant - one -lrb- pain lasts two to four minutes -rrb- . honeybee - two -lrb- pain lasts up to ten minutes -rrb- . bumblebee - two -lrb- pain for up to five minutes -rrb- . as the bus slows to a stop at a set of traffic lights he moves his head to get a good look at
 The text discusses how humans have an innate fear of spiders, which is a survival trait that has been passed down through generations. This fear is thought to be linked to the venomous nature of some spider species and the potential threat they pose to human health. Research suggests that this fear is not just a learned behavior but is instead hardwired into our brains, making it difficult to overcome. The article also touches on the idea that this fear may have evolved as a way to protect ourselves from other dangers, such as snakes or other predators.