Asian Giant Hornet

ASIAN GIANT HORNET:

KPCOFGS:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Vespidae

Genus: Vespa

Species: V. mandarinia

Type of Hornet: Asian Giant Hornet or Vespa mandarinia.

Nº of Subespecies: 

- Vespa mandarinia bellona.

- Vespa mandarinia magnifica.

- Vespa mandarinia nobilis.

- Vespa mandarinia japonica (actually not considered a subspecies).

SIZE: 

- Queens: about 5,5 cm (2,16 in)

- Workers: 2,7 to 4,5 cm (1,06 in to 1,77 in)

- Drones / males: similar to females (workers), but lack stingers.

LIFE SPAN & REPRODUCTION:

- Workers: live from 30 to 55 days, depending on the temperature.

- Drones: same as workers, from 30 to 55 days

EGG to ADULT: 

- When the colony is formed after Winter, the new Queen lays eggs on it, which will hatch within 1 WEEK!.

- Then they will undergo a 5-stage metamorphosis which lasts 14 days.

COLONY / NEST INFO: 

The size of the nests and its capacity can vary depending on the local conditions, but these are the average measures:

- These nests can be 90 cm in height.

- Can house between 1000 and 1500 hornets at once.

- Nests are normally found in low mountain foothills and lowland forests, away from human activity.

- Their nests can also be found underground, near rotten tree roots or in tunnels previously build by rodents or snakes.

- The depth of these underground nests vary between 6 to 60 cm and its length at the entrance from 2 to 60 cm.

STING & DEFENSE MECHANISMS: 

The stinger of an Asian Giant hornet is about 6 mm (or 0.25 inch long), 4.5 mm longer than that of a honeybee. Like many bees and wasps, its venom contains a cytolytic peptide that can damage tissues by stimulating phospholipase action.

Phospholipase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes (unbinds) phospholipids into fatty acids and other lipophilic substances. 

It has been calculated that since Asian Giant Hornets can sting repeatedly, one single hornet is capable of killing 10 mice and a small colony could kill a 150-pound (68,04 kg) animal.

After being stung, the swelling and pain usually subside in a few days, however, as with honeybee stings, an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis can put people in the hospital. Therefore it is very rare for a Vespa mandarinia's venom to cause death unless the victim is allergic to it.

INTERESTING FACTS:

- A common feature amongst the Hymenoptera order, is that males (drones) lack from stingers but are from the same size as females (workers).

- Asian Giant Hornets are attracted to tree sap and may be found near it if there is a nest in the surroundings, even though nests are usually inside on rotten trees, near tree roots, etc.

LOCATION MAP: 

PHOTO:

(For more information about the websites consulted in this article, see the Bibliography at the bottom of the website.)