Mini Lesson: Asian Giant Hornets
What all the buzz is about
ASIAN GIANT HORNETS 101
Here’s a quick breakdown of the facts:
These hornets are the largest of its species
They measure 1.5 to 2 inches (Our Yellow Jacket Wasp is 0.5-0.75 inches)
There have been 3 cases of AGHs in North America in the last 9 months (2 in WA State, and 1 in BC)
They are native to Japan
They are seven times more venomous than a honey bee
They can fly up to 32 kph and can travel many km in a single day
If you’re reading this, then CONGRATS 🥳! You’re the dominant species on the planet and there is a minuscule direct threat to you from giant hornets.
It would take a small colony to bring down a 150 pound animal.
SO…WHY ARE THEY CALLED MURDER HORNETS?
Apparently the name comes from how they devour their food - specifically honey bees 😬
When Asian Giant Hornets find a honey bee nest, they can tear apart tens of thousands of them in mere hours with a team of 👏 just 👏 a 👏 few 👏 dozen, completely taking out a colony without a problem.
HONEY BEES FIGHT BACK
But Japanese honey bees have also demonstrated a remarkable survival strategy by working as a team to fight back against individual invaders. They cook the hornets alive.
It's a dog-eat-dog world out there … or more accurately, a bee-cook-hornet world.
Japanese honey bees form a ball around a hornet and work in unison to vibrate and produce heat, raising the temperature, like a tiny oven, to over 115 degrees F. Bees can survive the high temperature, but the hornet cannot. 👍Watch a video showing this phenomenon here.
Unfortunately our honey bees don’t have this instinct because this is a new predator to them. 👎
WHAT WE CAN DO
There isn’t much we can do other than cheer on the preservation and ecological groups that are responsible for tracking the hornets and destroying their nests.
To report an AGH reach out to:
CANADA: bcinvasives.ca/report
USA: agr.wa.gov
Having this invasive species spread would devastate our bee populations further and ultimately impact our already vulnerable crops.
Oh, and you can also pray to the 2020 gods to let up on the Asian Giant Hornet panic. Tha’d be nice. 🙏
SUMMARY
Basically, if you aren’t a honey bee, you don’t need to worry about these guys much.
Honey bees are the one with the major threat which is why we need to do what we can to support the current honey bee colonies.
What do you think about all this? Were you ever worried about giant hornets? Did you hear about this species before reading this post? What are you going to do to help our honey bees?
