Among the hornets, a special place is occupied by the world's largest representative of this genus - Vespa Mandarinia, or the Asian giant hornet, whose photo can be viewed this year. As the name implies, it is very difficult not to notice it, since this insect with a brightly colored body up to 5 cm in size and an even more impressive wingspan of up to 7 cm cannot but attract attention. The Asian hornet is extremely dangerous and poisonous. To be able to distinguish it from more harmless relatives is especially important for lovers of travel to exotic countries of mysterious and unique Asia.

Interestingly, the Vespa mandarin is one of 23 species of hornets, which include common relatives living in Europe. The size of an insect is an anatomical adaptation to the climate in which it lives. Insects with large sizes are much easier to tolerate heat, because they have a large surface for heat transfer to the environment.

Moreover, due to the size of this killer, he can easily count on many victims, including those of comparable size. The rest of the insect is similar to its other relatives in appearance.

Appearance and structure of Vespa Mandarinia

In general, the appearance and body structure of the Asian giant killer hornet is very similar to the characteristic features of all 23 species of these insects. In color, they resemble wasps, but differ from them in size and lifestyle.

You can distinguish the Asian hornet from all other insects by the following striking features:

1. An incredibly large size, reaching a ratio of body length and wingspan of 5x7 cm. An adult insect with spread wings almost completely covers the female palm and at first glance it seems like a plastic toy.
2. The belly (back of the body), painted in alternating black and yellow stripes, appears black from a distance, since the dark stripes are wider than the light ones.
3. The chest (middle part of the body) is very dark, with a characteristic black pattern.
4. The head (front of the body) is most often a rich yellow or orange color, which allows you to notice the insect from afar.
5. The paired lateral eyes are very large, deep dark in color, almost black.

In addition to large lateral eyes, in the center of the front of the head, the hornet has three more additional ones, thanks to which the insect distinguishes the degree of illumination and perfectly orients itself in space. The Asian hornet sees well even in the dark.

The appearance of the giant insect is very remarkable, the hornet is difficult to confuse with other species or not notice. But, given the high speed that it can develop during flight, bright identifying signs are not always enough to avoid an unpleasant meeting with the killer, as this eastern giant is also called.

Varieties of the Asian giant hornet

The intimidating appearance and impressive size are only an adaptive mechanism to the conditions. external environment and eating behavior. In progress evolutionary development further adaptation of representatives of this species to natural conditions, resulting in several subspecies of Vespa Mandarinia.

The most famous endemic is the Japanese huge hornet. This unique insect can only be found on the Japanese islands and nowhere else in the world. The hornet is slightly more modest in size than the ordinary Asian giant representative of this species. It differs from its counterparts in color - its abdomen is with orange, not yellow stripes.

Some subspecies of giant hornets differ not in striped, but in marbled color of the abdomen. Absolutely all representatives of Vespa Mandarinia are poisonous and dangerous to humans, which should be taken into account by travelers to Asian countries.

Habitats of the giant hornet

In Europe, representatives of Vespa Mandarinia are not found. Their natural habitat is the countries of Asia:

• Japan.
• Korea.
• China.
• India.
• Thailand.

There they feel very comfortable in hot and humid environment tropics and subtropics. It is curious that in Russian Federation this insect is found on the territory of Primorsky Krai, where the conditions of the monsoonal Far Eastern climate are also suitable for it for comfortable living and reproduction.

Asian giant hornet life cycle

Like other representatives of this group of insects, Vespa Mandarinia live in large colonies in nests. The arrangement of the "home" begins to deal with the female. In early spring, she builds a nest of modest size, which will subsequently increase many times in volume and area. At this stage, the task of the female is to lay the foundation for the future colony by laying a few larvae. The future queen feeds and protects her first-born on her own.

About a month later, the first hornets appear, which are already ready to take care of the next generations of larvae, the completion of the nest, its protection and the development of the colony.

The queen (womb) remains in the nest forever and throughout her life she is engaged in laying larvae. All other concerns are taken over by the hornets that have appeared in the nest, which leave it for hunting and other needs.

The colony is growing rapidly. If about a month passes from the first clutch to the appearance of hornets, then in the future, in 4-6 weeks, the number of insects in the colony can increase to several thousand.

Throughout the existence of the colony, all insects, except for the uterus, have three main concerns: obtaining food for themselves and voracious larvae, completing the hive to the required size, taking into account the constant replenishment in the family, and protecting the “house” from ruin.

By the first frost, the colony dies out completely. In late August - early September, males fertilize females, but the latter no longer lay larvae. First, the number of the colony stops growing, and then begins to decline rapidly. All males gradually die out, and fertilized females find a safe wintering place for themselves. The family never returns to the old nest. In the spring, after awakening, each female will begin to create her own colony in a new place suitable for this purpose.

What does a giant hornet's nest look like?

The nest of the Asian killer hornet is made of paper-like material. Insects chew on tree bark, impregnating it with a special secret of saliva. From the resulting sticky mass, they build their "house". After drying, the building material acquires the desired look and texture, reminiscent of gray kraft paper.

What does the killer hornet eat?

The larvae of this insect are voracious predatory insects. In order to feed them, adults constantly hunt. From the killed insects, the hornets prepare a protein gruel, which is fed to the larvae.

Adults are also predators, the diet of which is based on any other insects. But they are not averse to eating sweet fruits, berries, they are happy to eat fish thrown ashore. Hornets do not use their poison for hunting, they have enough powerful jaws. In search of prey, a group of hornets can raid a bee hive or apiary. This is a real disaster for bees, because one killer can destroy up to 300 bees in a short period of time.

Is Vespa Mandarinia Beneficial?

In natural natural environment predatory hornets are a natural regulator of the number of other insects. Thanks to this, the ecological balance is maintained. Eating small insects, giant hornets free the forest from pests, which, with uncontrolled reproduction, can destroy even large green areas.

The harm caused by giant hornets

The main harm caused by a colony of giant hornets is the ruin of apiaries and the killing of bees. This is truly a natural disaster for Asian beekeepers. Therefore, a relentless struggle is being waged against dangerous insects in places and habitats found close to agricultural land and human habitation. You always need to be careful, because a meeting with a giant hornet can end for a person with an insect attack, the bite of which sometimes becomes fatal.

What does the sting of a giant hornet look like?

In a calm state, the insect does not show its sting, and it is impossible to see this deadly weapon. It is located inside the back of the body - the striped abdomen.

An insect can attack only in one case - protecting a nest or its own life. Hornets do not use a sting for hunting. Unlike bees, it is smooth, so after contact with the skin, it does not remain in the tissues of the victim. The sting of the Asian hornet reaches 5 mm in length. Each individual can strike several times - until the toxin runs out.

How dangerous is the bite of a killer hornet

The poison of the huge Asian hornet, the photo of which can be viewed in this article, is one of the most toxic substances for humans. That is why the insect received a frightening nickname - the killer hornet. Every year in the countries where they live, their victims, who did not survive after being bitten, number several dozen.

If a person is absolutely healthy, has no problems with the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems, after a single hornet bite, he will not die. The bite site quickly swells and becomes very painful. But, since there is no poisonous sting left in it, it is quite possible to get rid of unpleasant consequences.

How dangerous is the Asian huge hornet to humans? Piercing the skin of the victim with a sting, the hornet injects only a small amount of poison (about 2 mg), which increases the chances of a successful outcome for the bitten person. However, since the hornet can sting repeatedly, the situation becomes more severe with each subsequent bite.

The poison of this insect belongs to the group of neurotoxins that negatively affect the activity of the central nervous system of a person, depresses respiration and cardiac activity. In addition, the composition of the poison includes substances that can cause dangerous tissue damage, including their necrosis.

For people prone to allergic attacks, with chronic diseases, as well as for children, even a single bite of such an insect can be deadly.

Asian Killer Bite Treatments

The reaction of the human body to the poison of the Asian hornet, the photo and description of which is in this article, can be very different, depending on age, health status, and the number of bites. Therefore, when an insect bites, it is necessary not to waste time and immediately consult a doctor.

Almost always, severe swelling occurs at the site of the bite, so the doctor usually prescribes antihistamines. Depending on the severity of intoxication and the symptoms that appear, adequate therapy is prescribed using medicines that neutralize the toxin and eliminate the consequences of its action.

In most cases, hospitalization and round-the-clock medical supervision of the victim's condition are required.

How to avoid being bitten by a giant hornet

Since insects do not attack in a calm state, avoiding a bite is easy:

• do not touch or destroy the hornet's nest;
• when meeting with an insect, do not wave your arms and objects, so as not to provoke him to attack;
• do not eat sweet juicy foods (such as fruits) and meat in the vicinity of the colony, so as not to attract insects by smell.

These simple measures are enough to reduce the risk of encountering a killer hornet to a minimum.

Interesting facts about the giant insect

The body weight of a huge Asian hornet can reach 200 grams, and in flight from afar it is often mistaken for a small bird. Therefore, the local population often calls the insect "sparrow bee".

A colony of giant hornets is an anthill-like society with a complex social organization. Each adult has its own function and working "profession". In addition to hunters and soldiers, Asian hornets, photos of which are in this article, have nannies, doctors, and even cleaners.

Only females have a sting. But since outwardly they can hardly be distinguished from relatively harmless males, all representatives of this species of insects dangerous to humans should be feared.

Note that for nature, these hornets are natural orderlies. They kill a large number of pests of both forests and Agriculture. Therefore, insects are useful and need protection.

Surely you have been bitten by a bee at least once in your life. Honeybee stings are, of course, quite sensitive, but the pain, as a rule, passes quickly, leaving only a slight itch. However, in Japan, bees have a “distant relative” in the order of Hymenoptera - the huge Japanese hornet (Vespa mandarina japonica), the attack of which can be much more dangerous for humans.

Suzumebachi (the Japanese name for the insect) live only on mountain slopes overgrown with forests, and reach 5 cm in length, while about 6 mm of body length falls on the sting, and the membranous wingspan averages about 7.5 cm.

But size is far from the hornet's most important weapon: the insect produces a highly toxic nerve poison that can literally dissolve human body tissues, and also causes anaphylactic shock. When a hornet bites a person, they are hospitalized as soon as possible, but, nevertheless, about 40 people a year die from the attacks of "winged samurai".

One of the victims of the hornets compares the sensation of being bitten to a red-hot nail that has been driven deep into the body. Fortunately, these insects are not too aggressive and attack a person only in case of a clear threat, but they can pursue the victim at a distance of up to five kilometers.

Hornets love to feast on honey, ruining bee hives - one individual is able to kill 40 bees per minute, and a “detachment” of 30 suzumebati can kill up to 30 thousand bees in three hours. In the process of evolution, bees have learned to stop the attacks of giant aggressors, using their numerical advantage: about 500 bees enclose the hornet in a tight ball and, with increased muscle work, raise the temperature inside it to 47 ° C, while the hornet dies from heat shock, and such heat for the defenders of the hive safe - they withstand 50 ° C.

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It's hard to believe that a creature as small as the Japanese hornet can kill a person with just one bite. But the reality is this. About 40 Japanese per year die from the sting of this insect, no other animal or insect in the land of the rising sun kills more than.

The Japanese hornet can be called small only in relation to others deadly. dangerous killers. In fact, this is one of the largest representatives of the wasp family, and hornets in particular. The average size is 4.2 - 4.5 cm, but some individuals grow up to 5 centimeters or more. The wingspan often exceeds 6.5 cm. There is only one species more than this hornet - a huge Asian hornet, whose dimensions often exceed 5.5 cm, fortunately it is not so dangerous.

Outwardly, the huge Japanese hornet (lat.) is very similar to an enlarged common wasp. The main differences from the latter: a much larger head in proportional proportion, and the presence of three additional eyes. Otherwise, family ties are visible to the eye: the same striped pattern, the same membranous wings of a dark yellow color ...

The species is endemic, found only in forested and mountainous areas on several Japanese islands. Nests are built either in hollows of trees, or hung on the upper branches. A hornet's nest can be simply distinguished from a wasp nest - the first is light gray in color, the second is painted brown. Therefore, noticing a gray hive, try to get around it by the tenth road.

The main weapon of the hornet is a large sting about 6.2 mm long, with the help of which the insect injects a highly toxic nerve agent. Poison affects nervous system victims and leads to the destruction of the affected tissues. In rare cases, it causes anaphylactic shock, resulting in death from suffocation. Sometimes one bite is enough to kill an adult.

Fortunately, on their own giant japanese hornets not aggressive, they attack humans and other mammals only in order to protect the nest or when their own life is threatened. Therefore, we can say that all 40 deaths a year are due to the fault of the people themselves and their negligence.

Although the hornets themselves do not climb on the razzhon, but if you manage to bring the insect to despair, you just can’t get away from it, they can pursue their prey up to 5 km, and the hornets fly at a speed of 40 km / h.

Not only people suffer from huge hornets, but also other animals and insects. Most of the suffering goes to smaller wasps and honey bees - their hornets are destroyed by entire colonies. In one minute, the Japanese hornet is able to kill and dismember up to 40 bees or wasps, and a group of 30 hornets can completely destroy a colony of 30,000 individuals.

hornet attack on a honey bee hive: after 2-3 hours, there will be no one left from 30,000 army of bees

The Japanese hornet is a large stinging insect whose bites are not only painful, but also dangerous. The Japanese call it the bee sparrow. We learn more about the Japanese hornet and its lifestyle, what is dangerous, what to do and how to get rid of it.

Description and characteristics of insect life

Let's get acquainted with appearance Japanese hornet, its behavior and where it can be found.

What does a Japanese giant hornet look like?

It's under Vespa view mandarinia - a species of the hornet genus of the family of real wasps. The length of its body exceeds 4 cm, and the wingspan is about 6 cm. The insect looks like a large wasp with a yellow head, on which there are large eyes, and the body consists of dark brown and yellow stripes.

Did you know? Vespa mandarinia or the Asian giant hornet, of which the Japanese subspecies is a species, is the largest hornet in the world, reaching a little over 5 cm.

On a larger head than wasps, there are a pair of main eyes and three additional ones. The sting reaches a length of 6.25 mm, straight, without notches, reusable. When bitten, it does not remain in the skin. It has large jaws that it uses when hunting.

Lifestyle and nutrition of the Japanese giant

These are social wasps that build paper nests, consisting of pieces of tree bark glued together with saliva. The family is headed by the uterus - the only female that is able to lay eggs. There are working individuals, females, performing all the work in the hive and outside it (supply), unable to reproduce.

There are drones that exist for the sake of fertilizing the uterus. A family in one nest can contain up to 300 members. These insects feed on nectar and sugary food. They also hunt other insects and, thanks to their toxic poison and powerful jaws, can have other wasps, grasshoppers, and locusts as prey.

Worker bees do not eat such prey, but simply chew it thoroughly and feed it to the larvae and queen of their nest. Many of the insects they prey on are agricultural pests. Hornets cause considerable harm to honey bees. Particularly affected are European breeds of bees that are not able to resist them.

Did you know? Japanese bees have their own system of protection against hornets. When a sparrow-bee enters their hive, it gets into a dense environment of worker bees, which raise the temperature around it to +47 ° C due to muscular work. Hornets can only withstand temperatures up to +45°C and die after a while, while Japanese bees tolerate body heat up to +50°C.

Habitat

The Japanese hornet is endemic to the Japanese islands, but is also found in the south of Sakhalin Island. Its closest relative, the Asian giant hornet, lives in Eurasia. On the territory of the Russian Federation, it can often be found in the Primorsky Territory.

How it breeds

Drones only fertilize the queen and do not mate with other females. After mating, they die, and the uterus retains their sperm in itself. She lays her eggs in cells. Fertilized eggs produce females, while unfertilized eggs produce males.

First, after about a week, larvae appear from the oviposition, which are fed with protein food from other insects. After a few days, they turn into pupae placed in a silk cocoon, and the cells are closed with a lid. After a couple of weeks, a new insect emerges from them.

When the uterus ages, other young females can take over its functions. The old queen, unable to lay eggs, is driven away and dies. By winter, working individuals die, and fertilized females look for a wintering place. When warm weather sets in, overwintered individuals establish their colony by laying eggs in self-constructed cells.

The queen feeds the first brood herself, and then all work, except for laying eggs, is taken over by worker bees.

Did you know? The uterus controls the hornet family with the help of pheromones. Signals from smells make the hornets get food, feed the larvae, and attack enemies together.

Bite Features

The bite of Japanese hornets is very painful. It is compared to being struck with a hot nail. This species injects a highly toxic venom through its sting, which can be dangerous for allergy sufferers. Multiple bites, when members of the same family attack together, can result in death for any person. Children should be especially wary.

Toxicity of the poison to humans

Japanese hornets produce poison that has a nerve-paralytic effect. It contains mandorotoxin, a dangerous neurotoxin. Along with it, acetylcholine is injected - a substance that attracts other members of the nest. Usually, people who come close to the nest or kill the hornet are subjected to multiple attacks.

Disturbed insects, after a signal calling for an attack, can pursue the offender up to 5 km. Their venom can cause cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock, which manifests itself within a short time. It destroys tissues and causes severe pain, can cause allergies.

First symptoms

After severe pain from stinging with a hornet, the following symptoms are observed:

• redness at the site of the bite;
• rapid and extensive inflammatory process;
• hardening of tissues at the site of injury;
• edema;
• headaches and dizziness;
• labored breathing;
• cardiopalmus;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• elevated temperature.

When bitten by a Japanese hornet, medical assistance should be provided immediately. Otherwise, tissue destruction at the site of the bite can damage nearby organs, causing them to bleed.

What to do with a bite

Hornets rarely attack a person, but if it was not possible to avoid their attacks, then the following measures should be taken as soon as possible:

1. Apply cold to the bite site.
2. Wipe the bite site with hydrogen peroxide or magnesium chloride.
3. Make a compress from a saline solution or sprinkle the bite with crushed aspirin. You can attach a cut cucumber, plantain or onion.
4. Be sure to take the antihistamine drug that you have in stock "Suprastin", "Claritin". It is better for an allergy sufferer to immediately inject an antiallergic agent - Dimedrol, Suprastin, Dexamethasone.
5. If the bite fell on the hand, then you should immediately remove the rings and bracelets - if edema appears, this will already be difficult to do.

Particular vigilance should be exercised if the sting enters the head or neck area. In this case, in addition to the above measures, it is better to immediately call an ambulance.

Important! Do not scratch the bite site or treat with alcohol-containing preparations. It is not allowed to take sleeping pills or alcohol to relieve pain.

Ways to destroy nests

First of all, you need to inspect the site to identify the hornet's nest.

When looking for them, you should carefully examine:

• tree trunks and branches;
• attic space and roof sections;
• various places under the canopies of buildings;
• abandoned buildings;
• window openings;
• top and bottom of the balcony.

The hives of these insects have the shape of an oval with a narrowing at the bottom of a gray or brownish color. Sizes may vary depending on the number of living insects.

Any measures to combat these large wasps must be carried out in protective clothing.

To destroy nests, use the following methods:

• mechanical;
• traps;
• bait;
• insecticidal preparations.

Did you know? In Japan, an average of about 40 deaths from the bites of Japanese hornets.

When destroying nests mechanically, you can do the following:

1. Burn the nest. For this purpose, a large plastic bag is put on him and set on fire. In this case, everything must be done very quickly. For safety reasons, the package can be pre-treated with an insecticidal preparation, and then kept tied up for a longer time so that the bulk of the insects die, and then set on fire.
2. Place the nest in the bucket of water. For this purpose, you need to pick up a bucket of sufficient size so that the nest fits there. A bucket of water is brought to the hornet dwelling from below so that it is completely immersed in water. A container of water should be held for at least 10-15 minutes so that all insects drown. When choosing this method, it should be taken into account that a filled bucket weighs decently, and it is also not easy to keep it in a certain position. To enhance the effect, you need to take hot water or add kerosene, bleach or vinegar.
3. Fire extinguisher foam treatment. It is necessary to carefully fill the entire nest so that the insects freeze from exposure to carbon dioxide. After a while, the nest is knocked down.
4. The use of construction foam. The frozen mass will immure all housing and will not allow insects to fly out.

Traps and baits are used if they cannot find nests or if it is difficult to destroy them. Traps can be purchased at a garden store, or you can make your own. For this purpose, you need to take a plastic bottle and cut off 1/3 from the top, and then place the cut off part with the neck down.
Pour sweet bait (jam, syrup, juice) on the bottom. The hornets enter the bottle by smell for sweets, but they can no longer get back. Holes are made in the top of the bottle, through which ropes or wire are threaded, and then hung on trees. Periodically, the traps are cleaned and new bait is poured.

Important! Before cleaning the traps, you need to make sure that all insects are dead so as not to get bitten. To reduce the risks, it is better to spray the trap with an aerosol and wait.

Lures can be prepared by yourself. To do this, containers (usually saucers) with favorite sweets for insects are placed around the site. Poison is added to such sweets (boric acid, chemical preparations "Karbofos", "Aktara"). After eating such food, the hornets will bring poison to their dwelling on the body and infect other insects.

As insecticides, special aerosols from hornets are used ("Aerosol Dr. Klaus", "Dichlorvos"). Processing should be carried out very quickly, trying to get inside the nest, and then go to a safe place. It is better not to approach the nest for several days, as the missing hornets returning to the dead relatives will be very aggressive.

The processed home of the hornets should be burned after a few days.

Insect safety rules

When carrying out activities aimed at combating hornets, it is necessary to adhere to the following security measures:

1. Wear overalls or clothing made of dense fabric that completely covers the entire body. The skin must be fully protected.
2. It is better to protect the face with a mask from bees that are used in apiaries.
3. Protect your hands by wearing thick fabric or rubber gloves.
4. Be sure to prepare a first aid kit. It should contain bite preparations (hydrogen peroxide, alcohol), as well as anti-allergic drugs - Suprastin, Dexamethasone.
5. During the work on the destruction of hornets, there should be no children and animals, as well as other unauthorized persons on the site. After all, the remaining hornets, noticing the loss of the nest, behave by no means friendly.
6. The nest should be destroyed at night or just before dawn, when insect activity is at its lowest. It is best to carry out the procedure for the elimination of hornet dwellings in the spring, when the insect population is not so large.
7. When there are already a lot of insects, it is better not to take risks and contact the appropriate sanitary services. The same should be done if you are not sure that you can get rid of them yourself.

The bite of the Japanese hornet is dangerous for allergy sufferers and not only, since this species of insects has toxic poison.

Important! If you are bitten by a hornet, then do not rush to kill him. By his death, he will give a signal to other members of the nest, and you can be attacked by a large number of individuals.

The most dangerous are multiple bites and stinging in the head or neck area. Timely assistance in all cases of bites should be provided immediately.

Among all Asian insects, the Vespa Mandarinia hornet is one of the most famous. This is not surprising, if only because its huge 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 by itself attracts the attention of a tourist or traveler. No wonder in Asian countries this insect is also called a sparrow bee - for its impressive size.

However, the Asian hornet has one more vernacular name- It is called a tiger bee for its extremely painful stings. Among local residents, in contrast to the rave 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 venoms. 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 thunderstorm for all honey bees, so beekeepers in Thailand, India and Japan regularly suffer serious losses from the invasions of these predators.

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

Photo 2.

As for the Russians, we are mainly interested in the Vespa Mandarin hornet as one of the dangers that can lie in wait while traveling in an 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 killer 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 rather thin black bandages on a yellow body and a dark red head, then 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 large eyes that attracts the most attention.

And yet the main hallmark giant hornet, which makes it possible to distinguish this insect from other relatives, is, of course, its size. With its spread wings, it almost covers the palm of a person, so at the first meeting it seems not quite real, but as if deliberately made unnaturally large. Such dimensions help the hornet in the first place to get 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 with a sticky salivary secretion. The founding female gives birth to a new family, which at the beginning of the warm season simply lays a few eggs in the place where the nest will grow in the future.

Photo 5.

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

In nutrition, the Vespa Mandarinia hornet is picky: the basis of its diet is a wide variety of insects. A huge Asian hornet will also not mind eating meat or fish washed ashore, fruits and berries. Unlike adults, the larvae feed 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 crumble the chitinous covers of their victims.

Photo 7.

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

It is worth noting that the Vespa Mandarinia species is divided into several subspecies at different points in its range. So, in Japan, for example, there is a subspecies of the Japanese huge hornet, endemic only for 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 work to meet the Asian hornet in the highlands, 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, when bitten, does not introduce the entire supply of poison into the wound, in general, the bite of the Asian hornet is, although extremely painful, but for healthy person with a normally functioning immune system mortal danger does not represent.

Every year in Japan about 40 people die from the bites of giant hornets. 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 hornet 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 being bitten by a hornet, I was in the hospital for three weeks. I had a huge swelling on the whole side, I could not move my arm. The bite itself is simply monstrous - as if a drill is drilled into the body with an ordinary drill. When the insect bit me, I barely had time to reach the house and lost consciousness. The wife has already called the medics. And one of my friends died a year ago from a hornet attack.

Tai Won Xing, Jirin

Photo 11.

Quite a typical response of the body to a hornet bite is considered to be extensive tissue edema, which was already mentioned above, increased heart rate, headaches and fever.

However, in people sensitive to insect toxins, even a single bite from a giant hornet 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 the Vespa Mandarinia hornet continues the genus. There are several key points here.

1. The family of giant hornets exists for no more than one year.
2. When the housing of these huge wasps grows to a decent size, and the working individuals themselves become quite numerous, the uterus begins to lay eggs, from which males and females capable of breeding are hatched.
3. At a certain moment, these sexually mature individuals swarm and mate, after which the young males die, and the females seek secluded shelters for themselves and remain in them until spring.
4. By the rainy season (and in the Primorye region - by winter), the old family dies out completely, since the uterus stops laying new eggs.

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

Photo 13.

A disaster for man 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 and completely provoked by the person himself. These insects are not very aggressive by nature and will only attack in self-defense or nest defense.

Photo 14.

Hornets do much more harm to apiaries, especially those that breed less aggressive European honey bees. Sometimes hornets manage to destroy an entire bee family in a few hours, and therefore local beekeepers wage an ongoing systematic struggle with them.

In general, mortality 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, synthetic substances are added to many dietary supplements, similar to the secret contained in the developing hornet larvae. It is believed that these components increase a person's stamina. 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 pests of forests and agriculture, therefore, in most biocenoses - including on agricultural lands - they are useful and deserve protection.

Photo 16.

Photo 17.

Photo 18.

Photo 19.

Photo 20.

Several dozen hornets completely destroyed the bee hive

sources

http://klop911.ru/shershni-i-osy/shershni/shershen-vespa-mandarinia.html

http://www.zoopicture.ru/hornet/

http://ianimal.ru/topics/aziatskijj-gigantskijj-shershen

Here are some more interesting insects: for example, and here. Here's what happens if, but look, and how it looks The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -