Venomous, poisonous - what’s the difference?

What is the difference between venomous and poisonous?

• Venomous animals inject venom through bites, stings and the like, though they often avoid it—think snakes, spiders, stingrays, wasps, etc.
• Poisoning is when a poison is passively transferred to us through absorbing, consuming or inhaling it—think amphibians, plants, fungi, etc. It might be through touching the skin of a poisonous frog, eating a poisonous animal or breathing in poisonous spores.

Just a few animals manage to be both venomous and poisonous, such as some snakes that inject venom and also have toxic skin from eating poisonous toads.

And a third category you'll know to steer clear of is toxungenous animals that spray, fling or spit toxins toward potential threats. These include the skunk or the aptly named bombardier beetle that sprays acid from its rear.

Fortunately, our instincts are well-trained from centuries of evolution and experience to avoid anything venomous or poisonous, but one day, it may pay to know the difference.

This sketch features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures

Here's the original