Yes, the Asian Giant Killer Hornet is real and has arrived in the United States. The Giant Killer Hornets were first confirmed in the United States in December 2019 in the state of Washington. The Hornets may have been transported from Asia as stowaways in international cargo.
Here are the amazing facts about them… Asian giant hornets are the world’s largest hornet. They eat various insects, but their favorite target is the honey bee. In one slaughter, each hornet killed a bee every 14 seconds. A few Hornets can wipe out a hive of 30,000 bees in just a few hours. Hornets will leave piles of dead bees, most of them headless, outside their beehive.
The queen hornet is up to 2 inches long, with a wingspan of more than 3 inches. Female workers and males are slightly smaller, around an inch and a half. You can identify them by their large orange / yellow heads with prominent eyes. Their abdomen has black and yellow stripes and they are very pointy at the back end.
These hornets form large colonies that usually nest in the ground. Their stingers are much longer than honeybees, and only females have stingers. Their venom is more toxic than local honeybees or wasps, and they have seven times the amount of venom.
They can repeatedly sting. The sting is painful. One unlucky researcher said it was like a hot nail through my leg. Beekeeping suits will not protect you from Asian Giant Hornet stings. Giant hornets are not aggressive towards humans or pets, but they can attack if they feel threatened.
The Killer Hornets do kill between 40 and 50 people annually in Japan. The hornets have been called ‘Murder Hornets,’ ‘Hornets from Hell,’ and ‘Yak-Killer Hornets.’ Their scientific name is Vespa Mandarinia.
They are native to forests and low-altitude mountains in eastern and southeastern Asia. In some Japanese mountain villages, the hornets are considered a delicacy when deep fried.
