This Halloween week I would like to highlight some scary insects for you. While I normally endorse bugs and try to get people to not look upon them with fear and loathing, it doesn’t mean that all insects are cuddly, wuddly woolyworms. Some can capture our greatest fears and make them real. Such as today’s scary bug, the Japanese giant hornet…
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| I'll take your wallet if you please. |
As we discussed in our recent episode, there is something
inherently scary about a giant bug. Visually insects are horrifying
looking but we can’t tell when they are small. Once giant though, their inhuman
characteristics shine right through! Plus they seemingly have super
powers that could assist in their hostile takeover of the world. While there were giant insects earlier in Earth’s history, a drop in oxygen levels among other factors has led to their current diminutive stature. But that doesn't mean that there aren't still some monstrosities out there! Today’s scary insect
is the Japanese giant hornet, one of the Kaiju sized terrors of the arthropod
community.
The Japanese giant hornet, or Ĺsuzumebachi in
Japan (translates as giant sparrow bee), usually reaches lengths of an inch and
a half and has a wingspan of over 2 inches. They are brightly colored, with
yellow-orange bodies that have black stripes on them. As with most
wasps/hornets they are hunters rather than pollinators. Despite what your brain's fear region is telling you, their usual dinner is not a human being. The workers hornets go out and
hunt for prey items like caterpillars or beetle grubs. They attack and butcher
their prey, hauling the chunks back to the nest to feed to their
kin.
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| The hornet carried him away shortly after the picture was taken |
While we fear the sting of wasps like a yellow jacket here
in the United States, they don’t really compare to that of a Japanese giant
hornet. The giant hornet has a sting that is about a quarter of inch long that
it uses to inject neurological venom into you. As with most other stinging insects
this also releases an alarm pheromone that recruits nearby hornets to rise up
and attack you as well. The sting has been described as driving a red hot nail
into your flesh. While there are more toxic venoms around, the sheer amount the
giant hornet can pump into you can be quite dangerous. Somewhere in the neighborhood
of 30-40 people die in Japan from giant hornet attacks annually.
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| AKA More people than these two beasts |
Another notable problem with these big honkers is their
penchant for attacking and killing European honey bees. As shown in the videos
below, the giant hornets send out a scout hornet that finds and marks a
honeybee hive for attack. Then the hornets will get into a raiding party of
about 30 adult hornets. These 30 then go and attack a honey bee colony (average
worker force ~30,000). The hornets then proceed to Viking-style slaughter any fuzzy little
bee that stands in their way. Once they dispatch the adults they then move on
to the whole sale consumption and butchering of the baby bees. The native Japanese honey bees
do have their defenses though. If they can catch the initial scout, they will
dog pile on top of her and create what I can only call an oven ball of hot and steamy doom.
The center of this hot pocket of bees becomes warm enough that it actually roasts the scout alive.
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| It's like Mugsy Bogues trying to guard Shaq |
That's all for today! Join us tomorrow for our next edition of Terrifying Insects!
