Kingdom : Animalia Class : Insecta Family : Vespidae Scientific Name : Vespa mandarinia Group : Wasp Colour : Black, Brown Red, Orange, Yellow Skin Type : Shell Size(L) : 2.7cm - 5.5cm (1.1in - 2.2in) Life Span : 3- 5 months Distinctive Features : Wide black and orange body and large mandibles Fun Fact : The largest easp in the world!
- The Asian Giant Hornets are the largest species of hornets found throughout Eastern Asia.
- Their average length is between 2.7 cm and 4.5 cm with a wing span of around 7 cm.
- They have orange heads, black mandibles and black and golden bodies.
- They have two sets of eyes which are brown in color.
- Their stinger is not barbed and enables them to sting their victims repeatedly.
- Their Venom is complex, containing 8 different chemicals known to cause various dangerous reactions.
- The Asian Giant Hornets are fearless and extremely aggressive.
- They prey on insects, particularly the honey bee.
- They kill the honeybee with their powerful mandibles rather than with their stingers.
- They are known to completely destroy a 30,000+ colony of honeybees within 2 hours.
- A fertilized Asian Giant Hornet also known as the queen, builds their nest in spring.
- The other hornets in the nest are workers with only the queen being able to reproduce.
- The queen lays one egg in each cell of the nest, which hatch in 7 days.
- The larvae undergo a 5-stage metamorphosis, spanning 14 days, to become adults.
- The Male hornets usually die when mated.
- The other female and existing queens die out in autumn, leaving the next generation to survive.
- Being apex predators themselves, the Asian Giant Hornets have no natural predators.
- Interestingly, though dangerous, they are eaten by humans in Japan as Hornet sashimi.
- Deforestation and habitat loss are bringing down their numbers.