Asian Giant Hornets Kill 42 People In China, Injure Over 1,500 274
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Madison Park and Dayu Zhang report on CNN that swarms of aggressive hornets are inflicting a deadly toll in a central China killing 42 people and injuring 1,675 people in three cities in Shaanxi province since July. Government authorities say these attacks are from a particularly venomous species, the world's largest hornet, known as the Asian giant hornet or vespa mandarinia. The giant hornet extends about 3.5 to 3.9 centimeters in length, roughly the size of a human thumb and has an orange head with a black tooth used for burrowing. The Asian giant hornet is intensely predatory; it hunts medium- to large-sized insects, such as bees, other hornet species, and mantises. The pain of the Asian Giant Hornet is described as a hot nail piercing the skin and lasts about 4 hours with instant swelling. One victim told local media earlier this month that "the more you run, the more they want to chase you." Some victims described being chased about 200 meters (656 feet) by a swarm. Local authorities have deployed thousands of police officers and locals to destroy about 710 hives but ""It's very difficult to prevent the attacks because hornet nests are usually in hidden sites," says Shunichi Makino, director general of the Hokkaido Research Center for Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Makino, who specializes in entomology, warned that the sting from an Asian giant hornet was severe compared with those of other insects. "The venom of an Asian giant hornet is very special compared with other hornets or yellow jackets," says Makino. "The neurotoxin — especially to mammals including humans — it's a special brand of venom." Asian Giant Hornets have been spotted in the United States."
I do admire the Chinese (Score:5, Insightful)
I do admire the Chinese.Just think - being chased by a deadly hornet and still measuring the distance run with such accuracy.
Re:Photo of Vespa Mandarinia (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The best defense (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, this is not a bad idea... at least on a small scale.
If sucked into a vacuum cleaner, the violence of being sucked into and probably bounced around the hose as it gets pulled in would likely break its legs and almost certainly damage its wings to the point that it would no never be able to fly again (if not actually tear one or both of them right off). After being thrust into a pile of of dust in the vacuum bag that is *extremely* dry, where it could actually pull moisture right out of the bug's body, most insects would die extremely quickly.
Re:At least they died doing what they love. (Score:4, Insightful)
Their stingers are 1/4" long. They don't need venom.