The Asian giant hornet and the danger of its poison to human health. Features of the behavior of the giant hornet

Up to 20 species of hornets live on Earth. Some of them are large and dangerous to humans. The largest hornet is the Asian giant hornet. Its body measures up to 5 cm in length, its wingspan is up to 7.5 cm, and its weight is up to 200 g.

This insect is so large that when flying it can be mistaken for a bird, which is why it is called the sparrow bee. Giant hornet stings are poisonous, so people should stay away from these creatures' nests.

Four types of hornets are considered the most common and largest. Their rating is topped by the Asian killer hornet.

1. Asian giant hornet, Vespa Mandarinia

This hornet looks like a huge wasp. Its length reaches 5 cm with a body weight of up to 200 g. These insects have large wings with a span of up to 7.5 cm. If you place it on the palm, it will completely occupy it. This huge wasp has a yellow body color with wide black stripes and yellow head. Two attract attention huge eyes on the sides of the head and three small ones in the middle of it. These insects live in South-East Asia and in Russian Pomerania.

The bite of such a hornet is very poisonous, its poison is the most toxic among insects. If a person is attacked by a whole swarm, this can even lead to death. In Japan from bites Asian hornet Every year up to 40 people die. But it should be noted that hornets attack only if their nests are destroyed. It is mainly beekeepers who destroy nests, because giant wasps kill bees.

Asian hornets feed on a wide variety of insects. Adults sometimes feast on meat, fish, fruits and berries. Hornets never use poison for hunting. They crush the chitin of their victims with their large jaws. Their prey includes bees, wasps and other forest insects, including pests of forests and fields. That's why hornets are called forest nurses.

These insects live in nests that the queen builds from recycled wood. Hornets' nests look like paper ones. After building the nest, the queen lays eggs. She takes care of the offspring until the workers are born. Then they take food upon themselves.

Males and females that appear later can continue the hornet genus. The males soon die. Working hornets also do not live long; they often die while hunting and defending the nest. Tourists should remember that giant hornets are poisonous, but they will not attack humans without reason.

2. Common or European hornet

Insect large sizes. The body length of the female is 3.8 - 3.5 cm, the male - 2.5 cm. These hornets have a brown color on the head, chest and back of the head. The abdomen is brown, striped underneath. These hornets are common in Eurasia and North America.

Common hornets often settle on summer cottages, in barns, they can be seen in the hollow of an old tree. They live in nests that the queen builds. The family consists of a queen, females, males, workers and nest protectors. Only females survive the winter, which then form new families. Moreover, hornets never settle in an old nest. They can be distinguished from wasps by their large size and head shape.

These hornets feed on insects, but can feast on leftovers raw meat, fruits, berries, like wasps. European hornet stings are poisonous, but not as poisonous as Asian hornet stings. The bitten area swells, headache, and fever. If a person is very sensitive to insect venom, a state of shock may even occur. Cases of death from European hornet bites are very rare. It is better for a person not to meddle in the nest of these insects, then they will not touch him.

This insect has a body length from 3.5 cm to 2.5 cm. It is similar in size to the European hornet, but appearance It is original: its abdomen is black, its wings are brown, and has no stripes. Only in this species the queen does not build nests on her own.

Large insect, queens are up to 3 cm long, working hornets are up to 2 cm. The difference between this species is a wide yellow stripe that runs along the abdomen and a yellow spot on the head. Like all hornets, this species has two large and three small eyes and powerful jaws.

These large wasps live in North Africa, Madagascar and southern Russia. They are found in steppe and desert areas, so nests are built underground. These hornets are predators and feed on insects. Their bites are toxic; they attack people when their offspring are at risk.

• Big hornets - most interesting insects of our planet. These are highly organized creatures. In each nest, the main one is the queen, who gives birth to offspring. Females and males continue the race. Workers and guards hunt and protect the nest. There are even individuals responsible for cleaning the nest.
• Only female hornets have a sting, although it is difficult to distinguish them externally, so you need to be wary of everyone. Hornets can sting repeatedly, which is why they are more dangerous than wasps.

• These insects do not attack unless their nests are disturbed. Even if you see their nest in your attic, do not disturb it until the fall. When the queen leaves the nest, it needs to be removed and the cracks caulked.
• Hornets eat a wide variety of insects, so they serve as orderlies and are useful. But at the same time, hornets harm beekeeping.

• In Germany and Austria, a fine of 50,000 euros is imposed for destroying a hornet nest. They were taken under protection because the number of these insects had dropped sharply.
• The largest hornet in the world is the Asian giant hornet. This insect is 5 - 6 cm long and weighs up to 200 g. Its bites are very poisonous, but this hornet attacks humans only when its nests are destroyed. It's dangerous, but beautiful creature- one of the wonders of our nature.

One of the largest representatives of the Hymenoptera is the Asian hornet. The dimensions reach 5 cm in length, and the wingspan fits in the palm of an adult. human health, even death. The habitat is limited to the territory of the Far East. It attacks mainly bees, destroying them. Therefore, a person, protecting his apiary plantations from a pest, becomes a target for a giant pest.

Its enormous size allows the giant hornet to adapt to the hot temperatures of the Asian climate.

The classification is varied:

Being gigantic, vespa mandarinia is considered the most dangerous among all representatives of the genus. A large amount of toxins in the poison causes immediate reactions in the body.

Bite symptoms

The Asian hornet will sting a person in cases where he is in danger. While staunchly defending a home or when found in an apiary while killing bees as food, the insect will defend itself with a sting that it will pierce into the skin of a person. There will be several such attacks. The sting is of impressive size - up to 6 mm. And near the end of the body there is a sac with poison. During one moment of insertion, the sting is injected under the skin a large number of toxins that have a nerve-paralytic effect.

The moment of the bite is manifested by the following symptoms:

• acute pain due to the mandorotoxin contained in the poison;
• tissue swelling with extensive hemorrhages.

At the site of the bite, an extensive hematoma of red-brown, purple or of blue color. The shade depends on the concentration of the dose received, which destroys the walls of blood vessels and tissues.

Further symptoms characteristic of an allergic reaction develop: itching, burning, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, headache, weakness, fever, decrease blood pressure, cardiopalmus.

The content of histamine - an immediate neurotransmitter during allergic reactions– promotes rapid tissue swelling and the spread of toxins through the bloodstream. In addition, the human body, in response to allergens, produces its own histamine, which leads to an even greater severity of the process. The development of tissue necrosis and suppuration suggests that exposure to toxins has a detrimental effect on the skin and internal organs, spreading throughout the body.

In people who are resistant to allergies, bronchospasm develops and the lymph nodes become enlarged. Quincke's edema and anaphylaxis may develop, which are manifested by blueness of the nasolabial triangle, paralysis and paresis of the limbs, and difficulty breathing.

Urgent, within a few minutes, medical attention and hospitalization to the nearest medical facility is necessary.

What to do if you are bitten

The development of symptoms after a bite does not depend on what type of insect stung a person - a black hornet or a Japanese giant hornet, or other representatives. The body's response depends on the body's resistance and susceptibility to toxins. Therefore, there are three stages of manifestation of the clinical picture: mild, moderate and severe. Depending on this, first aid is provided.

Take an antihistamine and apply cold to slow down the spread of toxins through the bloodstream. Monitor your condition if no additional symptoms appear. The reaction to toxins also appears after 24 hours.

Danger to humans

Japanese huge hornet often becomes a destroyer of bee apiaries, causing irreparable harm. 30 adult individuals will destroy the entire brood of a bee family, which consists of about 30 thousand bees. If a person is nearby, then an attack cannot be avoided. The hornet's sting can penetrate the skin several times.

For a person, the danger of a sting is causing harm to the bite site and the entire body as a whole, causing severe consequences and complications, including death.

The giant hornet lives only in subtropical climate, therefore it is not dangerous for Russians.

The Japanese giant hornet has three eyes at the top of its head
Giant hornets build multi-tiered nests, the base of which looks like gray paper.
The largest is the Asian Vespa mandarinia. In Japan it is called "sparrow bee" or "tiger bee".

During wars, Asians bombarded the enemy with hornet nests, thereby causing panic in their ranks.
Compared to the European, large individuals of the Asian representative are less aggressive.

Where do they live?

The Asian giant hornet lives on the territory of the Japanese islands, India, Korea, Nepal, in the mountains of Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Found in the Primorsky Territory of Russia.

Japanese hornets are found only on the islands of Japan; you will rarely see them on Sakhalin.
The primary habitat of hornets is the subtropics of Asia and America, southern Europe.

What do they eat?

Giant hornets are quite unpretentious eaters. They are big lovers of sweets - they eat soft fruits, berries, honey, nectar.

They also destroy other insects: locusts, grasshoppers, flies, butterflies, crickets, bees and other representatives, as well as eggs from which new insects will hatch. They kill victims with the help of powerful jaws in front of the head, carefully treat them with saliva, chew them and take them to their larvae to be devoured. Adults do not feed on insects. The larva feeds on processed insects, meat and fish from the trash heap, and dead insects. All of the above food is delivered to her by an adult hornet.

Methods for destroying hornet nests

The Japanese giant hornet cannot tolerate the aromas of sulfur and ammonia. Therefore, throwing a rag soaked in ammonia over the nest, drive out the inhabitants. You can use sulfur to smoke out giant hosts.

Most in a simple way will be a quick dip of the nest in a container of water. The nest will become wet and not a single individual will leave it.
You can remove the hive using fire; just bring a match to the nest and it will instantly flare up.
Traps made from bottles of sugar or sweet water are relevant.

The secret weapon of Japanese bees

Bees against hornets have developed a unique method of dealing with uninvited guests. Their defense tactics are interesting - approximately 500 bees, having noticed the enemy, stick around him and create high temperatures around him, he will withstand no more than 47 ° C, while bees can withstand up to 50 °. Such temperature regime is supported by the enhanced operation of the wings. The lack of oxygen and hot air do their job - the giant insect dies. This way, the bees kill the hornet before it releases fear pheromones.

Bees and hornets have long been adversaries, despite being related. After all, a bee hive for a hornet is valuable and nutritious meat for the larvae and food for the adults.

The largest insects in the world belong to and resemble them in appearance, surpassing them only in size. The giant Asian hornet is the most dangerous in the world, because it kills several dozen people every year. Another species is the black hornet, although smaller in size, different in an original way reproduction.

Varieties of giant hornets

Our planet is home to 23 species, whose lifestyles have much in common, and external signs They differ in size, color, and there are differences in nutrition and behavior. The most gigantic and dangerous insect for humans is the species of Asian hornet (Vespa Mandarinia), which lives in the forests of Southeast Asia and the Far East, in subtropical regions Central Asia, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Depending on the habitat, Asian Mandarins are divided into several subspecies: for example, they live in Japan, in China - Chinese, etc.

The following types of giant hornets also include:

• Orientals, considered the most beautiful among their brethren, are red-brown in color and have 3 yellow stripes on their bellies. They live in arid zones of Russia and the Middle East, preferring dry steppes and deserts.
• The black or Dybowski hornet (Vespa dybowskii) differs from other species in that it nests in the already built houses of its fellows, first killing the queen and all the inhabitants.
• The African hornet is one of the subspecies of the Asian “giant wasp”; it is also yellow-black in color, but lives in North African countries: Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, etc.

Interesting!

In nature, in the southern regions of Europe, in the Crimea or the Caucasus, in the Middle East, you can find black hornets with blue wings, quite large in size - up to 28 mm. However, according to biological classification they are named and are representatives of the bee family.

Description of the Asian giant

And the largest hornets on Earth are the Asian giant hornets, which can be found in the forests of not only Asia, but also other countries, which should be taken into account by tourists planning to visit exotic corners of the planet.

Externally, the Asian hornet looks like a huge yellow-black wasp with a wingspan of up to 7.5 cm, so it is impossible not to notice it.

Interesting!

IN different countries local residents call it “sparrow bee” or “tiger bee” not only for its size and the presence of black and yellow stripes, but also for the deadly danger of its bites, which cause severe toxic poisoning in people, and can be fatal in allergy sufferers.

The body of the giant Asian Mandarin reaches 5 cm in length, is colored with yellow and black stripes, the chest is almost completely brown or black. Unlike European species, the head has bright yellow color, she has a long mustache. The number of eyes is 5: in addition to the usual 2, the forehead is decorated with 3 additional organs of vision, which allow better orientation in space and terrain, and the ability to distinguish colors (see photo of the largest hornet and its eyes).

According to its feeding method, it is a predator that actively hunts small insects, including pests. However, giant hornets also destroy beneficial bees, causing severe damage to apiaries. Their larger sizes allow them to obtain more food, which is inaccessible to their smaller relatives. They also love to feast on sweet fruits and berries, juices or nectar.

Asian hornet venom and consequences of a bite

Characteristic feature giant murder hornets is the ability to use a sting to repeatedly bite and inject toxic poison into the body of the victim. The substance formed in the body of the insect has a complex composition and has a strong poisoning ability.

The main components of the venom of Asian giant hornets:

• histamine, which promotes swelling and an allergic reaction;
• Mandorotoxin – refers to a type of neurotoxin that affects the blocking nervous system mammals;
• acetylcholine - a substance released during a bite, which attracts other hornets with its smell, after which the victim is attacked by several relatives at once;
• toxic substances that have a melting effect on the victim’s tissue, which causes severe pain and even shock.

The human body's reaction to a hornet sting usually manifests itself almost instantly: severe inflammation, swelling and hardening occur at the site of injection of the poison, and blood flow (hyperemia). Then the temperature begins to rise, enlarged lymph nodes, shortness of breath and headaches, and an attack of palpitations. In a situation where a person prone to allergies is attacked, asphyxia (suffocation) may develop within almost a few minutes, which can lead to death.

Due to the fact that hornets often attack with the entire “army,” as a result of numerous bites, a completely healthy person may develop tissue necrosis and extensive hemorrhages in the internal organs.

Interesting!

Every year on Japanese islands About 70 people die from the bites of giant hornets, which exceeds the mortality rate from the bites of any large or small wild animals and indicates the extreme danger of the “Asian killers.”

Life cycle

The habitat of most Asian hornets in Russia is Far East, as well as forested areas of China, Japan, India and Korea. After hibernation The queen, fertilized in the fall, is looking for a place to build. Construction material for it is the bark of trees chewed by the jaws, from which the “builders” form honeycombs and a house in the form of a cocoon; it is hung on tree branches or hidden in a hollow or cave.

After construction, the female lays eggs in honeycombs and secures them with a sticky mass. As they mature, larvae appear, which are fed by workers of the colony, for which they bring small insects from hunting, which they first partially chew in their mouths.

In almost 2 weeks, the larvae grow into full-fledged female hornets and drones, which are engaged in further construction of the nest. In total, the queen can lay up to 500 eggs in a colony.

Interesting!

At the end warm season the female and working males die, only fertilized individuals - the future founders of colonies - remain alive.

Hunting tactics of giant hornets

All months, from spring to colder weather in autumn, from early morning to late evening, Asian hornets hunt to obtain food for the larvae developing in the nest. Flying through the forest, scouts look for small insects, as well as bee hives. Having discovered them, they mark them with a special substance containing odorous pheromones. The attractive aroma attracts worker hornets, which kill the entire population of the colony and take away the honey and larvae.

On a note!

According to scientists, in one hunting operation, aggressive “conquerors” can destroy a colony of 30 thousand bees. However, the inhabitants of the hive do not always give up without a fight; sometimes they manage to kill the scout before the signal is given and can save their offspring from death. To do this, they lure it inside the hive, where, using vibration of the wings, they increase the air temperature to +50ºС, which causes overheating and death of the scout hornet.

For a lone insect caught on the road by a “hunter”, there is no way to escape. When attacked, the predator manages to quickly inject a paralyzing poison, and then powerful jaws chews up prey. It only takes a few seconds to decapitate a praying mantis, which is larger than an Asian wasp.

The habitat of this species: Primorye and Transbaikalia in Russia, as well as Asian countries: China, India, Burma, Japan and Korea, Thailand. The size of the body is up to 31 mm in females, 22-25 mm in males.

On a note!

The color of the insects is very different from the “giant wasps”: the abdomen is black, the head has a red and black pattern, the wings are dark brown, as can be seen in the photo of the black hornet below.

Having penetrated inside, the black female kills the queen of the colony and takes her place, camouflaging herself with the help of special pheromones. She lays her own fertilized eggs, and the workers, not noticing the replacement, begin to feed her larvae and serve the new queen.

When the number of mature black females and males has increased sufficiently, they leave the colony and mate. Later, the males die, and the females hibernate in the bark of trees or look for the next nest to establish their home.

How to avoid hornet stings

If you encounter “giant wasps” in nature, you should behave carefully and not panic. Such insects never attack humans on their own, but only when there is a threat of destruction of their nest or causing damage.

Therefore, when in the forest near beehives or flying “giant wasps”, you must adhere to following rules behavior:

• they should never be caught or disturbed;
• it is dangerous for life to approach the nest or try to touch it;
• You cannot make sudden movements or knock on trees, because “giant wasps” understand such actions as a threat;
• if you kill one hornet, the whole family will fly to the smell it gives off;
• the smells of bananas or apples can provoke an attack, so it is not recommended to use cosmetics with such scents when going into the forest.

It should be remembered that giant hornets are forest orderlies, destroying many types of pests; there are few of them left in nature, which is why they are listed in the Red Book.

Among all Asian insects, the Vespa Mandarinia hornet is one of the most famous. This is not surprising, if only because its enormous size makes it extremely noticeable: a huge wasp with a body length of 5 cm and a wingspan of up to 6-7 cm somehow naturally attracts the attention of a tourist or traveler. It is not for nothing that in Asian countries this insect is also called the sparrow bee - for its impressive size.

However, the Asian hornet has another popular name - it is called the tiger bee for its extremely painful stings. Among local residents, in contrast to the enthusiastic reviews of tourists, the Vespa Mandarinia hornet has rather gained a bad reputation: its bite is deadly, especially for a person with hypersensitivity to insect poisons. If several giants attack at the same time, they can easily bite or cripple almost any person to death.

Photo 1.


Among other things, the Asian giant hornet is a threat to all honey bees, so beekeepers in Thailand, India and Japan regularly suffer serious losses from invasions of these predators.

The Vespa Mandarin hornet is one of 23 species of the hornet genus, which also includes common European relatives. The size of this insect is just a simple anatomical adaptation to a hot climate (animals large sizes tolerate high temperatures more easily because they have a larger surface area for heat transfer to environment). In addition, due to its size, this giant can count on a large number of potential victims, even those comparable in size to it. Otherwise, the huge Asian hornet is very similar to its other relatives.

Photo 2.

As for Russians, we are mainly interested in the Vespa Mandarinia hornet as one of the dangers that can lie in wait when traveling through the exotic Asian region. Therefore, information about what the giant Asian hornet looks like, as well as how to avoid its bites, will never be superfluous.

Asian murder hornets are generally similar in body shape and general color tones to ordinary hornets: they are also yellow with black stripes. However, individual color details still distinguish them from each other.

So, if the Vespa Crabro hornet, better known as the common European hornet, has fairly thin black bandages on corpus luteum and a dark red head, the Vespa Mandarinia hornet is characterized by much thicker and more expressive black stripes on the body, as well as a yellow head.

Photo 3.

Visually, it is the light-colored head with two big eyes attracts attention the most.

And yet, the main distinguishing feature of the giant hornet, which makes it possible to distinguish this insect from other relatives, is, of course, its size. With its spread wings it almost overlaps a person’s palm, so at the first meeting it seems not quite real, but as if made deliberately unnaturally large. Such sizes help the hornet primarily to obtain food that is inaccessible to smaller relatives.

Photo 4.

The Asian giant hornet leads the same lifestyle as all other members of the Vespa genus.

Hornets live in paper nests made from chewed pieces of young tree bark, held together by sticky salivary secretions. Generates new family the founder female, who at the beginning of the warm season simply lays several eggs in the place where the nest will later grow.

Photo 5.

At first, the female herself obtains food for the larvae, takes care of them and looks after them. However, already a month after laying the eggs, young hornets hatch from them, which, in turn, take on all the worries of feeding new larvae and protecting the family. The uterus greatly limits its role - it continues only to lay eggs until the end of its life.

The Vespa Mandarinia hornet is not picky in its diet: the basis of its diet is a variety of insects. The huge Asian hornet will also not mind eating meat or fish washed ashore, fruits and berries. Unlike adult individuals, the larvae are fed exclusively on animal food, however, this feature is also characteristic of all other hornets of the Vespa genus.

Photo 6.

Hornets almost never use their poisonous sting to get food. They kill other insects with powerful jaws, which literally crush the chitinous coverings of their victims.

Photo 7.

The most common big hornet quite widely in the world: it is found throughout Southeast Asia and reaches Russian Primorye, where it is quite common and numerous.

It is worth noting that the species Vespa Mandarinia in different points its range is divided into several subspecies. So, in Japan, for example, there lives a subspecies of the Japanese huge hornet, endemic only to island territories.

Photo 8.

In general, hornets of this species are common in different biotopes, but most of all they prefer forests and various light groves. Thus, it will not be possible to meet the Asian hornet in high mountains, steppe and desert areas.

Photo 9.

The Asian giant hornet is very poisonous: its poison is considered one of the most toxic among all insects in general. However, due to the fact that this huge predator does not inject the entire supply of poison into the wound when biting, in general, the bite of an Asian hornet is, although extremely painful, but for a healthy person with a normally functioning immune system mortal danger has no idea.

Every year in Japan, about 40 people die from giant hornet bites. Thus, the hornets here set a kind of anti-record - no other wild animal can “boast” of such indicators.

Photo 10.

Due to the presence of several protein toxins in the hornet's venom, its entry into soft tissues immediately activates cell lysis, which is accompanied by instant swelling and inflammation. The presence of histamine and acetylcholine in the poison - substances that ensure the occurrence of an immediate immune response and the transmission of neuromuscular reactions - causes a sharp pain effect, sometimes accompanied by a state of shock in the victim.

“After the hornet bite, I spent three weeks in the hospital. I had huge swelling all over my side and I couldn’t move my arm. The bite itself is simply monstrous - as if a drill is being drilled into the body with an ordinary drill. When the insect bit me, I barely managed to get home and lost consciousness. My wife already called the doctors. And one of my friends died a year ago from a hornet attack.”

Tai Won Xing, Girin

Photo 11.

A quite typical response of the body to a hornet sting is considered to be extensive tissue swelling, which was already mentioned above, increased heart rate, headaches and fever.

However, in people sensitive to insect toxins, even one giant hornet sting can cause anaphylactic shock and death. If there were numerous bites, then in this case, even for a healthy person, the attack is fraught with tissue necrosis, extensive hemorrhages and damage to internal organs.

Photo 12.

Reproduction of giant hornets

Now let's look at how procreation occurs in the Vespa Mandarinia hornet. There are several key points to highlight here.

1. The giant hornet family exists for no more than one year.
2. When the housing of these huge wasps grows to a decent size, and there are quite a lot of working individuals themselves, the queen begins to lay eggs, from which males and females capable of reproduction hatch.
3. At a certain point, these mature individuals swarm and mate, after which the young males die, and the females look for secluded shelters and remain in them until spring.
4. For the rainy season (and in the Primorye region for winter) old family completely dies out because the queen stops laying new eggs.

It is worth noting that sometimes all Vespa hornets do not survive to the time of natural death, since they die from ticks or infections.

Photo 13.

A disaster for humans or an adornment of nature?

In a global sense, giant Asian hornets are, of course, dangerous to people, but this danger is not critical, since it is entirely provoked by man himself. These insects are not very aggressive by nature; they will only attack in self-defense or protecting a nest.

Photo 14.

Hornets cause much more damage to apiaries, especially those where less aggressive European bees are bred. honey bees. Sometimes hornets manage to destroy an entire bee family, and therefore local beekeepers are waging an ongoing systematic fight against them.

In general, the mortality rate from giant hornet bites is quite high: in some regions, up to 100 people die per year. But in fairness, it should be said that most of the dead are the same beekeepers who, without special means of protection, actively destroy hornet nests and, as a result, fall under their massive attacks.

A simple tourist who accidentally finds himself in the forest next to the Vespa Mandarinia hornet should not be afraid of this insect - it will not attack without a reason.

Photo 15.

In the West, many dietary supplements add synthetic substances similar to the secretion contained in developing hornet larvae. These components are believed to increase human endurance. However, there is no experimental evidence for these claims.

In conclusion, it should be noted that for wildlife, giant hornets are one of the most active natural orderlies. They successfully destroy many forest pests and Agriculture, therefore, in most biocenoses - including agricultural lands - they are useful and deserve protection.

Photo 16.

Photo 17.

Photo 18.

Photo 19.

Photo 20.

Several dozen hornets completely destroyed a bee hive

One of the most terrible insects is the Asian hornet. A photo of this creature has appeared in many news reports related to the death of a person over the past decade. Not to mention the fear it brings to its relatives in the wild.

What makes it so special? Why is the Asian giant hornet dominant over other insect species? And how dangerous is it for ordinary people? All these questions have long troubled the souls of inquisitive naturalists, and therefore it is time to give unambiguous answers to them.

Giant insect

Asian hornet - official name of this type. However, every nation has given name for this creature. For example, on the island of Taiwan it is called the “tiger bee” because its sting is very painful. And in Japan I call these hornets “sparrow bees” because of their bulky wings.

And there are many similar examples, but they all boil down to one thing - the strength and size of the Asian hornet. And this is not surprising, because among all 27 species of hornets, it leads by a huge gap. That is why it is also called the giant insect, thereby indicating its amazing proportions.

Habitat

Based on the name, it is easy to guess that this creature lives on the Asian side of the continent. In particular, it can be found in China, Korea, India, Nepal, as well as on the islands of Japan and Taiwan.

Many people are now clearly interested in the question: “Is there an Asian hornet in Russia?” Well, the answer will be yes. In our country, it can be found in the Primorsky Territory, and its population is not modest in size.

Distinctive features

The huge Asian hornet is not much different from its relatives, except for size, of course. Adults grow up to 5 cm in length, making them giants in the insect world.

Otherwise, they strongly resemble wasps and bees, especially in coloring. The entire body of the hornet is divided into yellow and black stripes. At the same time, the head of the “bee-tiger” is always yellow color- this is another one of his distinguishing feature. But most of the wide stripes on the body, on the contrary, have a black tint.

The Asian hornet also has large front jaws that can bite a small insect in half. They are one of the most formidable weapons of the hornet, along with its poisoned sting.

The harsh lifestyle that the Asian giant hornet is used to

With the arrival of the first spring warmth, all the insects begin to crawl out. It was during this period that from his winter sleep The hornet queen awakens. Full of strength and ambition, she goes in search of a new home, which often becomes an empty hollow or hole in the ground.

After which she begins to actively lay eggs, from which her first servants will hatch in 2-3 days. If you believe the research of scientists, then in a few weeks the population of such a family can grow to a couple of thousand individuals.

It is quite difficult to feed such a number of hornets, and therefore the scouts of the hive every day, like crazy, rush around the area in search of profit. Anyone smaller than the “tiger bees” themselves, and sometimes even “relatives” comparable to them, can become food. Even such a formidable representative of the eastern fauna as the praying mantis is unable to control them.

War with bees

However, for some types of insects, the Asian hornet is not just an enemy, but the number one goal. In particular, he wages a brutal war on bees. At the same time, for his little relatives, such a confrontation borders on genocide, but let’s talk about everything in order.

As mentioned earlier, the Asian hornet is very voracious. In order to provide himself and his relatives with the required amount of meat, he looks for more and more new sources of food. Therefore, a beehive for him is like After all, by and large, small bees will not do anything against a flock of huge hornets.

Therefore, for the honey plant workers, the only chance to survive is to destroy the scout before he marks the territory with his pheromones. At the same time, the swarm immediately attacks the hornet, not allowing it to come to its senses. But they do not sting him, but envelop him with their bodies in order to increase the temperature inside the living cocoon.

This method is very effective, since hornets are less resistant to heat than bees. However, more than a dozen small insects die in such battles. And yet such a sacrifice is entirely justified, given the stakes that were at stake.

The danger posed by the Asian hornet

As you know, this insect has two formidable weapons: jaws and sting. And if the first brings terrible pain, then the second can easily take life. And the reason for this is the poison contained in the special glands of the Asian hornet.

As soon as toxins enter the victim’s blood, they immediately begin to corrode the cell structure. For small insects and mammals this is certain death. As for larger representatives of the animal world, in most cases they survive a hornet attack.

But a person will have a hard time if he is bitten by a “bee-tiger”. And if you don’t provide assistance to the victim in time medical care, serious complications may occur. Especially if the victim suffers from an allergy to bee venom. But it will be much worse if there are several bites, because in this case death is almost inevitable.

And this is not just intimidation or false rumors. In Korea alone, up to 40 people can die from hornet attacks in one year. And if we take statistics for all of Asia, the numbers become even worse. This is due to the aggressive nature of the Asian hornet, as well as its close contact with people. Therefore, it would be best to avoid meeting him, and if it has already taken place, then do everything possible to protect yourself and your family from bites.