More and more nests of giant hornets are being found in the United States. Why are they dangerous?

In May 2022, huge Asian hornets Vespa mandarinia, which sometimes barely fit in the palm of a person, were spotted in the United States. The body length of these creatures can reach 5 centimeters, but this is far from their main feature. The largest hornets on the planet can destroy a bee hive in a matter of seconds, and deal with its inhabitants very cruelly, tearing off their heads and giving them to their offspring to be eaten. They are also dangerous for people - according to statistics, about 50 people die . Last October, Washington Department of Agriculture officials reported the destruction of a nest containing approximately 200 queen hornets that could have given birth to hundreds of new colonies of the dangerous insects. Their population is growing very quickly, and this is evidenced by the discovery of another pair of nests at the end of August 2021. One group of hornets has already been destroyed and in the near future the same fate will overtake the second group.

The largest hornet in the world Vespa mandarinia

What does the largest hornet look like?

"Vespa Mandarina" is a royal hornet, which is part of a group of 23 species of similar insects, among them there are ordinary bees living in European countries. The sizes are impressive, they are large, but due to adaptation to the climate. The larger the body and other parts of insects, the easier it is for them to tolerate heat, because the transfer of heat into the environment increases. Also, thanks to their size, giants can kill a larger number of victims of different sizes. Asian hornets are similar to classic representatives, bees and other relatives.

The Japanese hornet has 3 eyes on its head.

For Russians, such an insect is one of the dangers when traveling to exotic places in Asia. Asian murder hornets resemble the black hornet in body shape and coloration; they have dark and yellow stripes, but certain elements of the color are different. European species have black and thin bandages on a yellow background and a reddish head, Vespa Mandarinia is distinguished by thick and pronounced stripes and a yellow head, which has light shades and a pair of large eyes.

The main difference is the size of the hornets. If they fully spread their wings, they can almost completely cover the palm of an adult. This allows them to obtain food that is inaccessible to other members of the species.

Population and species status

Photo: Hornet animal

The genus of hornets is quite wide. It includes more than twenty different species of insects, differing in color, size, feeding habits and lifestyle. Due to the presence of several species and high fertility, this genus is not endangered and is not listed in the Red Book.

The general population of hornets does not cause concern among scientists. It is normal, causes the least concern, and has a low risk of extinction. However, if we consider the hornet wasp population in terms of individual species, the situation is not so encouraging. Many species are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Books of individual states and cities. The reduction in the number of such animals is due to completely different reasons, which can be found out in the next section of the publication.

The common hornet is an endangered species. Its population in different regions of its natural habitat is very unstable. In particular, this variety is included in the Red Book of the Smolensk region. Also a small representative of the hornet genus is the Dybovsky hornet (black). It is of average size for hornets, has a black-brown color, and is a predator. The black hornet is included in the Red Book of the Chita region. Some species of hornets are included in the Red Books of Germany and many other European countries.

Habitat

The main habitat of the giant is the territory of Japan (all islands), as well as:

• India;
• Korea;
• Nepal;
• Sri Lanka;
• Taiwan.

Very rarely, the insect appears in the Primorsky Territory of the Russian Federation. Japanese species can be seen exclusively in Japan; the hornet is extremely rarely found on Sakhalin. The main habitat is the subtropical climate of Asia, the USA and southern Europe.

Attention! Asian subspecies of insects form nests of several tiers, and bark is used as a base. Visually, their housing looks like gray paper.

The reason for the extinction of bees

Hornet nests must be destroyed because these insects can destroy bees. I have previously shared that the United States is already experiencing a record decline in bee populations. Scientists from the University of Maryland (USA) conducted a survey of 3,000 American beekeepers and found that between April 2022 and April 2020 they lost 43.7% of bees. And we wrote about the dangers of their disappearance in this material. This may be a big discovery for many, but if these creatures become extinct, humanity could lose coffee, good clothes, and even shipping.

Hornet attacks bees

It is important to note that hornets are not the only cause of bee extinction. In most cases, bees die due to environmental pollution and the use of insecticide chemicals. In 2022, it was found that even power lines negatively affect the lives of bees.

Life cycle of an insect

Asian hornets lead a similar lifestyle to other Vespa species. They live in nests made of paper, they make them themselves using young tree bark, which is glued together with salivary secretions. The female creates a new family by laying eggs with the arrival of warmth, after which the nest increases in size. Initially, she herself finds food for the larvae, looks after and cares for them. A month later, young animals appear, whose task is to feed new larvae and protect the family. The queen will lay eggs for the rest of her life.

Features of hunting

At first glance, it may seem that the Asian hornet and representatives of its subspecies are insatiable, cold-blooded killers. But, in fairness, it is worth clarifying that they obtain the bulk of food for their offspring. And since there are thousands of larvae in the hive, a lot of food is needed.

Throughout the day, scout hornets search for a source of food. Having found a nest of bees, they mark it with a special substance containing pheromones, to which other hornets flock. These aggressive insects are capable of destroying a bee colony of 30,000 individuals at a time. As trophies, the killers take honey, the corpses of bees, their larvae and pupae.

Bees cannot resist a group of giant hornets, but they sometimes succeed in destroying a scout giving a signal. By this they can save themselves and their offspring from attack.

Noticing the approach of the enemy, war bees transmit information about the danger to the others. Several kamikaze individuals sacrifice themselves, luring the hornet into the hive. There, other bees surround him in a tight ring and begin to quickly vibrate their bellies, thereby increasing the air temperature to 50°C, which is destructive for the hornets. This happens for twenty minutes, during which some defenders die, but others immediately take their place in order to prevent the still living predator from breaking through the defense.

For individual insects, things are more tragic. The predator attacks with lightning speed and injects poison, after which it chews the body of its prey with a pair of powerful jaws. For example, the Asian giant hornet can decapitate a praying mantis with just one bite.

Reproduction

For the largest hornet in the world, the reproduction process is carried out in several stages, including:

1. The hornet family only lives for one year.
2. After the housing expands, the number of working insects increases, so the queen lays eggs again, which helps create new individuals for further reproduction.
3. At maturity, the hornets mate, at the end the males die, and the queens move to quiet places to wait for spring. The arrival of warmth allows for the creation of new colonies.
4. As soon as the rains begin, the old hornets die out.

Much more people are interested not in the reproduction process and description of hornets, but in the consequences of bites, as well as measures that help eliminate them.

Interesting! During the wars, Asians used nests with insects from their opponents, abandoning them, which caused panic.

What does it eat?

The Japanese giant hornet feeds on many foods and is considered a hardy insect. Sweets are most suitable, including fruits, berries and honey. In addition, they kill insects for food, including flies, butterflies, locusts, bees and other representatives. They do not disdain eggs, from which new insects only emerge.

Hornets have powerful jaws, which they use to kill their prey. After this, processing with saliva, chewing is carried out and this product belongs to its family. Adult hornets do not eat insects, but only get them. Only larvae eat meat, fish and other animal foods. To obtain food, hornets almost never use a sting with poison.

Life of a huge wasp

As already mentioned, the Japanese giant hornet is a strict island endemic. Outside of Japan, it was found only in the south of Sakhalin. On the mainland this species is not found at all.

As for the lifestyle, the Japanese giant lives in almost all biotopes, except for the alpine belt and large cities. Where insects live, there are almost no drafts or other disturbing factors: their nests are located on branches and in hollows of trees, under the roofs of rural buildings, on rock ledges in the forest area, in rock cracks and natural niches.

The huge hornet builds dwellings that are very similar to paper wasp nests, only larger and more voluminous. This structure and location of the dwellings of these insects is characteristic of almost all other species of their relatives.

The nest is built in early spring by a young, overwintered female. She feeds the first larvae herself, and the working hornets that emerge from them begin to help the founding female get food and care for the brood. After a short time - as the colony grows - the queen stops doing anything other than laying eggs.

From the moment the egg is laid until the hornet emerges from the pupa, about 28-30 days pass.

If we talk about the food preferences of this insect, it is worth noting that the Japanese giant hornet, however, like all its close relatives, is a predator. The main part of its diet consists of various insects, spiders, worms, and mollusks.

However, like other wasps, the huge hornet loves honey, the juice of sweet fruits, and can also fly to the smell of meat and fish. He does not even refuse food that has begun to spoil.

Another thing is the larvae. Hornets feed their offspring exclusively with meat of the highest quality - they give them the most delicious pieces of prey.

The photo below shows Japanese hornet larvae:

The entire hornet colony develops before the swarming period, which occurs in late summer and early autumn. At this point, the eggs hatch into young males and females capable of reproducing. After swarming and mating, the males die, and the females find wintering shelters and hide in them to begin the life cycle again at the beginning of summer.

Thus, the entire life of hornets fits into just a short period of time - the warm season. During the winter, the nest dies out, and out of the entire family of thousands, only the females remain.

The photo shows an example of such an empty nest:

How dangerous is the murder hornet?

The murder hornet has a powerful poison, it is located inside and is considered the most toxic, unlike other representatives. However, the risk of dying after this is not very high, since as a result of the bite, the injection of poison is not carried out in full. The sensations themselves are complemented by severe pain. If a person is healthy, he does not have dysfunction of the immune system and hypersensitivity, there will be no danger.

Every year in Japan, about 40 people die from hornets of this type. Statistically, this is a very small figure. Mortality from other animals and insects is much more common. Due to certain protein toxins that are in the poison, its penetration into the skin immediately triggers cell lysis, instantly causing swelling and inflammation. The contents also contain acetylcholine and histamine, which cause a rapid immune response and transmission of reactions from the nervous and muscular systems. During the bite, the victim feels severe pain, leading to shock.

Interesting! Asian hornets are the largest in the world, their length is about 6 cm, their weight is about 200 grams.

Compared to ordinary bees, the sting of a huge hornet is not jagged, so they are capable of repeated attacks without harming themselves.

You can understand that you have been bitten by an Asian hornet by physical sensations; you need to be prepared for other symptoms that will not take long to appear:

1. A significant allergy in the body caused by histamine, which is in the poison.
2. Severe tissue swelling.
3. Inflammation in the affected area.
4. Increased body temperature with additional headache, which may cause shock.

With high sensitivity to poisons and the contents in it, even one insect can lead to death, anaphylactic shock. Numerous insect lesions cause tissue necrosis, severe bleeding and disruption of organ function. This will be for any person, even if he is completely healthy and is not allergic to poisons.

The largest bumblebee in the world

Bumblebees are part of the bee genus and are one of the closest species to ordinary honey bees. The largest are the Asian ones, which are often called killer bumblebees or tiger bees due to their tiger-like coloring.

These insects are usually quite large in size:

• the body is about 30 mm long in females and 26 mm in males;
• the width is about 15 mm;
• The wingspan can reach 50 mm in the largest individuals.

Note! Giant killer bumblebees most often live in forests, groves and agricultural lands, since in this area it is more convenient for them to build nests, which are usually located in the crowns of trees. Bumblebees are dangerous and their poison is quite strong

After being stung, a person can easily end up in the hospital.

Giant bumblebee, or tiger bumblebee, is a name most often found in Japan or China. Despite the development of medicine and the creation of new drugs, a relatively large number of people still die from attacks by representatives of this species, numbering in the hundreds all over the world. The bumblebee is a more aggressive insect, and there are cases when it attacked first. It has well-developed jaws, so it can not only sting, but also bite painfully. Bites, by the way, hurt the most. However, for residents of Russia and other CIS countries there is no reason to fear, since this class does not occur here. You should only be careful if you are planning a trip to Asian countries.

Giant killer bumblebees most often live in forests, groves and farmland

Important! The giant bumblebee has a relatively small wingspan, making it appear that this insect is unable to fly normally. This disadvantage is compensated by more frequent strokes, sometimes the frequency can reach more than 400 per second, which is almost impossible to notice with the naked eye

This class of insects feeds on the sap of trees and plants, as well as the nectar of flowers. The sting remains with the bumblebee after the attack, and therefore it has the ability to use it repeatedly. During the attack, he injects a small amount of poison. Particularly dangerous can be cases where it gets into a vein or vessel. Then the poison acts on the body faster. This manifests itself as more severe pain and swelling. An affected person with an allergy needs immediate medical attention.

Giant bumblebees and hornets are insects of enormous size for their species. They are poisonous and can cause severe harm. Despite this, they rarely attack on their own, most often in order to protect their habitat. This is worth considering when planning a trip to Asian countries. In Russia they are rare, but still, whoever is warned is protected!

What to do if you are bitten

If a tiger hornet stings, you should initially call an ambulance. Before its arrival, it is important to correctly provide first aid, which will be almost the same as when affected by other insects of this genus.

Hornets are considered beneficial insects, but also pests. They act as orderlies, but can harm beekeeping.

In case of a bite, it is necessary to quickly provide medical assistance, this will help to avoid dangerous consequences.

Symptoms and consequences

The eastern hornet begins to sting people in cases where the insect is in danger. For example, they can defend a nest or look for prey for food in the form of bees, which they kill; in such a situation, the sting acts as a defensive object. You should know that there will be several attacks at once, and the sting itself is quite large, reaching 6 mm. Next to it and the body there is a bag containing poison. Although the hornet does not release the entire volume of toxic substances, the injection is such that any person receives a lot of toxins at one time, which can cause paralysis and malfunction of the nervous system.

Among the main symptoms after a bite are:

1. Severe pain effect due to the presence of mandorotoxin contained in the toxic substance.
2. Extensive tissue swelling at the bite site and bleeding.
3. Immediately after a person is injured, a hematoma appears, which will be dark red or purple in color. The shade is directly related to the amount of toxic substance injected. This effect is achieved by destroying the walls of blood vessels and soft tissues.
4. All the signs characteristic of an allergy appear. These include itching, burning of the skin, severe shortness of breath, and other breathing problems.
5. Pain in the head, general weakness in the body and an increase in temperature begin.
6. Blood pressure decreases and heart rate increases.

Histamine in the structure of the poison causes rapid swelling, and all toxins almost instantly spread throughout the body along with the bloodstream. In addition, the human immune system enters the process, responding to the allergen by releasing its own histamine. This causes the bite to become more complicated, and the severity of the injury automatically increases. Therefore, soft tissue necrosis appears. If there is suppuration at the site of the lesion, then we can talk about the detrimental effect of the poison on the skin and human organs.

People who have increased sensitivity have a high risk of bronchospasm, as well as enlarged lymph nodes. In some cases, the bite of a royal hornet causes Quincke's edema, paralysis and failure of the limbs.

If the symptoms described are present, the patient will need to be referred very quickly to a medical facility. In this case, every minute will be important.

First aid

Regardless of the type of hornet (regular black or Asian), symptoms appear immediately after damage to the body. However, much depends on susceptibility to poisons. Therefore, there is a possibility of three degrees of severity with varying manifestations from mild to severe. Based on this, tactics are selected to provide assistance.

The main recommendations are the following:

1. Check the wound for a stinger inside the skin. This can happen if the hornet is immediately killed by a person during a bite.
2. Perform disinfection procedures for the affected area. It is best to use a very weak solution of potassium permanganate or coat everything with peroxide.
3. Apply cold to the wound site.
4. Take antihistamines.

Such actions will help slow down the process of poisons spreading throughout the body. After the assistance has been completed, you need to monitor the reaction and the appearance of new symptoms, which can occur even after a day.

Allergic reaction

A mild allergy can go away without intervention, but if it is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, difficult breathing that leads to suffocation and other symptoms, then you cannot do without an ambulance.

If the reaction has already begun, then the doctor can use adrenaline, which will start the heart muscle, constrict blood vessels and open the pathways for normal breathing. All people with allergies who are registered with a doctor must have an anti-shock kit and a special passport with a diagnosis, especially assistance.

It is difficult to determine when and where a hornet will bite, but a passport will help save a person before the visit of a medical team. You can determine the presence of an allergy to poisons yourself if, after a bite, redness appears on the body more than 15 cm in diameter, and swelling extends much further from the site of insertion of the sting. The reaction to the poison from the Asian hornet appears instantly, then the severity increases and can progress in the sun, in a bathhouse or from any other temperatures.

Interesting! The fine for damaging hornet nests in Germany and Austria is 50 thousand euros. The insects are under protection because their numbers are sharply declining.