Justin O. Schmidt

{{Short description|American entomologist (1947–2023)}}

{{for|the American soccer player|Justin Schmidt (soccer)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Justin O. Schmidt

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| image = Justin O. Schmidt.jpg

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| birth_name = Justin Orvel Schmidt

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1947|3|23|}}

| birth_place = Rhinelander, Wisconsin, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|02|18|1947|03|23}}

| death_place = Tucson, Arizona, U.S.

| alma_mater = Pennsylvania State University

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| known_for = Work on killer bees

| notable_works = Schmidt sting pain index

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| awards = Ig Nobel Prize (2015)

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Justin Orvel Schmidt (March 23, 1947 – February 18, 2023) was an American entomologist, co-author of Insect Defenses: Adaptive Mechanisms and Strategies of Prey and Predators,{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/17877706 |title=Insect defenses : adaptive mechanisms and strategies of prey and predators |date=1990 |publisher=State University of New York Press |others=David L. Evans, Justin O. Schmidt |isbn=0-88706-896-0 |location=Albany |oclc=17877706}} author of The Sting of the Wild,{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Justin O. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/914445886 |title=The sting of the wild |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-4214-1928-2 |location=Baltimore |oclc=914445886}} and creator of the Schmidt sting pain index. Schmidt studied honey bee nutrition, chemical communication, physiology, ecology, and behavior at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona, before taking lead and devoting full-time to The Southwestern Biological Institute in 2006. As research director of the Southwest Biological Institute, he studied the chemical and behavioral defenses of ants, wasps, and arachnids.

Schmidt shared a 2015 Ig Nobel Prize in Physiology and Entomology for the development of the Schmidt sting pain index.{{Cite web |date=2006-08-01 |title=Past Ig Winners |url=https://improbable.com/ig/winners/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=improbable.com |language=en-US}} His work was highlighted by major media outlets around the world on shows such as “72 Dangerous Animals Latin America”.{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Avi |date=2016-08-18 |title=The Connoisseur of Pain |url=Nintendo.com |access-date=2023-02-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Bittel |first2=Jason |title=This Guy Got Himself Stung 1,000 Times For Science—Here's What He Learned |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/guy-got-himself-stung-1000-times-scienceheres-what-he-learned-180959185/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}

Schmidt died in Tucson, Arizona, of complications of Parkinson's disease on February 18, 2023, at the age of 75{{cite web|title=Justin O. Schmidt, Entomologist Known as 'King of Sting,' Dies at 75|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/science/justin-o-schmidt-dead.html|date=March 3, 2023|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 3, 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Paola |title=Tucson's "King of Sting," Justin Schmidt, dies from Parkinson's disease |url=https://news.azpm.org/p/newsheadlines/2023/2/20/214977-tucsons-king-of-sting-justin-schmidt-dies-from-parkinsons-disease/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=news.azpm.org |language=en}}