The Asian Giant Hornet

The Asian Giant Hornet is the largest species of Hornet in the world with some queens reaching more than 5cm in length. They are found throughout Eastern Asia, particularly in Japan where they are commonly known as the Giant Sparrow Bee. It is not to be confused with the more placid Asian Hornet which arrived in France in 2005 and, although similar in appearance to the Asian Giant Hornet, the Asian Hornet is thought to be no more dangerous than the European Hornet. The Asian Giant Hornet was first classified in 1852 by a British entomologist called Frederick Smith, who worked in the zoology department of the British Museum. He later became the president of the Entomological Society of London from 1862 - 1863.

This Wasp species is larger than any other with average Asian Giant Hornets growing to between 2.7cm and 4.5cm in length, with a wingspan of around 7cm. The queens can grow to 5.5cm but are similar in appearance to the worker Hornets with an orange head, black mandibles and a black and golden body. The Asian Giant Hornet has two sets of eyes, one compound and one ocelli, both of which are brown in colour along with their legs. Unlike other species of Wasp, and indeed Bees, the stinger of the Asian Giant Hornet is not barbed and therefore remains attached to it's body once used. This means that Asian Giant Hornets are able to sting their victims repeatedly, injecting a complex venom that is known to contain eight different chemicals.

The Asian Giant Hornet is found throughout Eastern Asia in Korea, Taiwan, China, Indochina, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, but they are most commonly found in the mountains of Japan. They are found inhabiting higher altitude forests in both temperate and tropical areas, where there is plenty of food and suitable places to build a nest. The nest is founded by a fertilised female (known as the queen) who selects a suitably sheltered site such as the hollow trunk of a tree, where she begins to build herself a nest out of chewed up bark. Wasp nests contain a series of single cells which together create the well-known honeycomb affect.

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