Japanese Giant Hornet

About the Japanese Giant Hornet

The largest hornet in the world. A single colony can annihilate an entire honeybee hive of 30,000 bees in hours using coordinated attacks. Their venom contains mandarotoxin, which can dissolve human tissue. About 30-50 people die from stings annually in Japan. Japanese honeybees have evolved a defense: they form a ball around the scout hornet and cook it to death at 47 degrees C. Now found in the Pacific Northwest of North America as an invasive species.