Killer Hornets !!

[Robbi]

Wow !!

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/killer-hornets-leave-41-dead-and-1600-injured

 

[Ecoman]

Were all doomed!

 

[Niels]

Dude. That's horrible.

 

[crosslandkelly]

6mm stinger, forget a fly swat, get a tennis racquet.

 

[Turnip]

I saw one of these (or atleast one similar) whilst in china! scarely large beasties! it was like a flying mouse!

 

[HHazeldean]

This just reaffirms my believe that hornets are the most vile, horrible of all the flyey stingy blighters, and ones that big are just even worse! (shudder)

 

[British Red]

European hornets are lovely gentle creatures - nearly as passive as bumble bees (which also have a prolific sting capacity)

They like grapes too


Hornet by British Red, on Flickr

 

[Turnip]

I imagine the beasty asian ones to sound like chinooks when they fly!
the one I saw was on the other side of some nice thick glass luckily... just in case!

 

[Ecoman]

[video=youtube;ykZUeFEnoCE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykZUeFEnoCE[/video]

I saw one of these a few weeks back at a Hilux Club meet in Sibbertoft. Nearly papped myself when I saw it. We had been plagued by wasps all weekend and one of these turned up! So different to wasps. Wasps act like they have wee man syndrome compared to these things!!

 

[Robbi]

not sure if i could bring myself to do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zkW5LgMe9yE

check out the size of this one.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VGoAhW7sx_0

 

[British Red]

Worth checking out John P's old posts on hornets - I learned a lot from that guy - wish he was more active here these days

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15043

 

[davidpingu]

not sure if i could bring myself to do this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zkW5LgMe9yE

check out the size of this one.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VGoAhW7sx_0

According to the guy in the first video the male of that particular species doesn't have the stinger and only mimics a stinging action. Interesting fact if what he's saying is true

 

[British Red]

According to the guy in the first video the male of that particular species doesn't have the stinger and only mimics a stinging action. Interesting fact if what he's saying is true

Its true. In honey bees, bumble bees and wasps the sting is an adapted ovipositor and hence only present in females

 

[Robbi]

well i didn't know that very interesting fact, thanks for that BR

now............

how do you tell male from female, very quickly, at a glance, as it lands on your arm and starts waving it's bum around ?

 

[British Red]

In honey bees the drones are much larger than workers with huge eyes and a squat less tapered body. I can photograph some and show the difference if its of interest?

 

[Ecoman]

In honey bees the drones are much larger than workers with huge eyes and a squat less tapered body. I can photograph some and show the difference if its of interest?

Yes please

 

[ammo]

These guys can wipe out a hole hive of European bees, in a couple of hours! The African bee however has a defence method that is really effective.Rather than attack one act a time,like the Europeans, they swarm literally, surround each hornet, they vibrate until they reach a temperature that basically overheats the hornets core. A few bee,s die. Yet the hive is saved !!

 

[British Red]

Some honey bees do use "thermo-balling", they cannot sting some species of hornets due to the tough exoskeleton. Interestingly though Asian hornets resist this being able to tolerate higher temperatures, so Cyprian bees have developed a similar defence that involves physically suffocating Asian hornets with their bodies.

http://www.livescience.com/1889-surprise-strategy-bees-smother-enemies.html

Along with other recent research that shows bees can, and do, bite, its fascinating to see the varied defence mechanisms a hive has at its disposal - including, shortly, killing all its own males

 

[santaman2000]

These guys can wipe out a hole hive of European bees, in a couple of hours! The African bee however has a defence method that is really effective.Rather than attack one act a time,like the Europeans, they swarm literally, surround each hornet, they vibrate until they reach a temperature that basically overheats the hornets core. A few bee,s die. Yet the hive is saved !!

The Africanized bees (hybridized European/African honeybees) also swarm out en mass to attack and kill livestock, pets, and humans here. And as yet we've found no way to prevent their spread. Meanwhile, common European honeybees are suffering from "colony collapse disorder."

 

[BearInTheWoods]

I got a callout a couple of years ago to spray a hornet nest, it looked a bit ragged and when I asked the woman at the house what the damage was, she told me that her husband was in hospital after trying to deal with the nest by shooting it up with his Crossman Ratchatcher, he'd been stung to bits and was on a drip and various pain medication.