Killer Hornets

The killer hornet, also referred to as the Asian giant hornet, is the largest hornet in the world. The scientific name of this insect is Vespa velutina. They are tremendously aggressive in nature, and have the tendency to attack in swarms, stinging its prey repeatedly to death. These insects' attack anything they come across, even humans are not an exception. Several human deaths attributed to killer hornet stings are reported from various parts every year.

Habitat
As their name suggests, Asian giant hornets are primarily found in Japan, Russia, China, Korea, Nepal and India. Native to the temperate and tropical regions of eastern Asia, killer hornets have even migrated to various other parts of the world. Large hornet nests are a common site in the Japanese mountains where these insects are found in abundance. In fact, the highest concentration of this insect species is seen in Malaysia and Japan.

Appearance
Generally these killer hornets can grow to a length of approximately 2 inches. The Queen hornets are slightly bigger in size and grow up to a length of 2.2 inches. Owing to their large size, these hornets are also known as sparrow bees in Japan. These insects sport a wingspan of 3 inches, which makes them very good fliers. They have the capacity of flying at the speed of 25 - 30 mph, and can easily cover a distance of 60 miles in a day. Its bright orange head is relatively larger than the other hornet species, and gives it a distinct scary appearance. Its eyes and antenna are dark brown in color. The body of the insect is dark brown, orange and yellow in color, which makes it resemble the European hornet to a great extent.

Predatory Behavior and Feeding Habits
These predatory insects hunt in groups and feed on larger insects, mantises and other hornet species. A swift predator, a single killer hornet has the ability to kill approximately 40 honey bees per minute. Large swarms of these hornet species attack bee hives and feed on the honey bees as well as their larvae. A small swarm of hornets can easily destroy a 30,000 member swarm of bees within no time. After the entire bee swarm is finished, they carry the bee larvae to their own nests, in order to feed their larvae. Adult killer hornets cannot eat solid proteins. They chew the honey bee larvae and feed it to the larvae of their own. After eating, the larvae produces a clear liquid referred to as the 'vespa amino acid mixture', which is eventually consumed by the adults.

Sting and Venom
One of the most fascinating aspect of killer hornets is their agonizing sting. These hornets use their 6 mm sting to inject the potent venom into its prey. The venom contains a cytolytic peptide which stimulates the phospholipase action and damages the tissues to cause death. Owing to the presence of mandaratoxin, a neurotoxin, the venom can turn out to be lethal for humans, if injected in significant amount. The enzymes present in its venom are so strong, that they can even dissolve human tissues. Deaths due to yak killer hornet stings can be attributed to an anaphylactic shock - an allergic reaction known to make the person lose consciousness and lead to breathing failure.

Even though these powerful insects are seldom threatened by any predators, they do suffer from human encroachment in their natural habitat - just like most of the other members of kingdom Animalia. Loss of habitat due to human intervention is responsible for the drastic depletion in killer hornet population. In Japan, these insects are considered a delicacy, due to which the Japanese indulge in their hunting even though the risk involved is quite high.