Those Scary Hymenopterans
As much as I love all things nature, there are still a few groups that scare me. Snakes, scorpions, spiders — love ‘em all. But there’s just something about those Hymenopterans — the bees, wasps, and hornets — that scare me. It’s the flight really. The fact that something with a stinger can sneak up on you before you realize it’s there. And as I discovered, my fear isn’t just a blind irrational thing. It’s based on a certain degree of reality. For if little creatures like this can kill a yak, you should be afraid. Very afraid.
National Geographic also provides more info on the species, in an article aptly named, Hornets From Hell.
The giant Asian hornet (Vespa mandarinia) has earned the nickname “yak killer” from local villagers. At nearly 2 inches long, they’re the world’s largest hornets. Victims describe their quarter-inch-long stingers as feeling like a hot nail. The stinger delivers a lethal venom that dissolves human tissue, and, as the name implies, can kill a yak.
Update: Kelley left a link in the comments to a video of the hornets and their warfare with introduced European honey bees vs. native Japanese honey bees. It’s a must see.
Oh come oone now, you don’t have to hate the whole lot of hymenopterans…just the females, as none of the males have stingers
And just a technical point, because people often don’t equate the two together, but ants also belong to the order hymenoptera (bees, wasps (hornets are a type of ‘wasp’), and ants).
And another cool story about hymenopterans…
There is a japanese hornet that is quite large and voracious, and they make their meals out of bee hives. They go in and massacre the whole hive within minutes. But, whats even more awesome, is that the honey bees have devised a little combat plan of their own…they huddle together in a ball, often around the invading hornet and ’shiver’, which increases the temp in the hive and kills the hornet.
I need to make a t-shirt that says, “I heart insects”.
Now Kelley, I most certainly do not hate hymenopterans. Merely, I am scared of them. I relish their beauty when birding, but shake in my boots if they start flying at me or near me.
Yes, ants are most certainly hymenopterans. I knew this but it was good of you to point this out. And they can be scary too. I’ve stripped my clothes off in 15 seconds flat in Ecuador due to accidently getting covered in a swarm of Army ants.
The national geographic article that I linked to spoke of this species of hornet slaughtering the bees, but mentioned that the European honey bees didn’t have any response? Is it only native species that “shiver” to produce the heat?
And as far as that T-shirt you wanted, well here you go. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s not as cool as another T-shirt you and I own, but it’s cool none-the-less.
Ha ha ha…$20 seems a little pricey for the starving grad student
It’s a Japanese honey bee that vibrates and raises the temp in the hive. The European honey bee is introduced and does not have this defense.
There are videos on the web of the battle between the two…I am not saavy enough to figure out how to embed that video for you, or know if you even can, but here is a link to the video:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1012_051012_hornet_video.html
That’s awesome!
So here’s my big question… Do you know anything about what the hornets did before European honey bees arrived? Do they just eat other insects and get their nourishment that way? Is the native bees protection 100% such that they’re never peyed upon by hornets?
I loved the tolerances to temperature. You see how close evolution has pushed the limits. Bees withstand 118, raise the temp to 117. Hornets can only withstand 115. To people, it seems like a degree here or there wouldn’t be enough to drive this behavior and defense, but it is.
Carnage of hymenopteran proportions…
This little beauty is Vespa mandarinia, up to two inches long with a three inch wingspan, and a quarter inch stinger. The latter injects venom so strong that it can dissolve human tissue, but they normally feed on honeybees;……
*SHUDDER*
I am horrendously phobic of all kinds of bees and wasps (remarkably apathetic to ants though). This huge hornet would scare the bejeezes out of me if it were ever to cross my path. Being slightly allergic to bee/wasp stings helps to feed my fear, of course. I often joke that they should all become extinct, basing my claim on the fact that wasps are just nasty stingers and bees can be replaced by little nanorobots to pollenize flowers. I know, I know, it’s not gonna happen and it would be bad if it did, but I’m not hurting anyone when I dream of a world with no bees/wasps.
The ironic thing is the fact that once springtime comes around and temperatures get warm enough for them to come out and buzz, they make me yearn for the cold, cold dead of winter in which there are no bugs anywhere — and I’m not a fan of cold temperatures…