Among all Asian insects, the hornet Vespa Mandarinia is one of the most famous. This is not surprising, if only because the huge size makes it extremely noticeable: a huge wasp with a body length of 5 cm and a wingspan of up to 6 cm somehow somehow attracts the attention of a tourist or traveler. No wonder in Asian countries, this insect is also called the sparrow-bee - for its impressive size.
However, the Asian hornet has another popular name - the tiger bee is called for its extremely painful bites. The locals, in contrast to the rave reviews of tourists, Vespa Mandarinia hornet gained rather notoriety: its bite is deadly, especially for a person who is sensitive to insect poisons. If several giants attack at the same time, they can easily bite or maim almost any person to death.
Among other things, Asian giant hornet - the storm of all honey bees, so the beekeepers of Thailand, India and Japan regularly suffer serious damage from the invasions of these predators.
It is interesting
The hornet of Vespa Mandarin is one of 23 species of the hornets of the genus, including, among others, common European relatives. The size of this insect is just a simple anatomical adaptation to a hot climate (large-sized animals tolerate high temperatures more easily because they have a large surface to release heat to the environment). In addition, due to the size of this giant can count on a large number of potential victims, even comparable with him in size. Otherwise, the huge Asian hornet is very similar to its other relatives.
As for the Russians, we are interested in the hornet Vespa Mandarinia mainly as one of the dangers that may lie in wait for travels in the exotic Asian region. Therefore, information about how the giant Asian hornet looks like, as well as how to avoid its bites, will never be superfluous.
Distinctive features of the wasp-tiger
Asian hornets-killers form the body and the general tones of the color in general are similar to ordinary hornets: they are also yellow with black stripes. However, the individual color details still distinguish them from each other.
So, if the Vespa Crabro hornet, better known as the common European, has rather thin black dressings on the yellow body and a dark red head, then the Vespa Mandarinia hornet is characterized by significantly thicker and expressive black stripes on the body, as well as a yellow head.
Visually, it is the head of a bright color with two big eyes that attracts the most attention.
The video shows Asian hornets caught in a sticky trap:
Giant asian hornets fell into a sticky trap
Interestingly, the giant Vespa Mandarinia, between the two main large eyes, has three small accessory eyes. These additional organs of vision help the hornet to distinguish between dark and light and to orient in space.
In the photo - the Asian hornet full face. His extra eyes are clearly visible:
And yet the main feature of the giant hornet, which allows to distinguish this insect among other relatives, is, of course, its size.With his spread wings, he almost covers the palm of a man, so when he first meets he doesn’t seem to be quite real, but as if he was made intentionally unnaturally large. Such dimensions help the hornet first of all to get food that is inaccessible for smaller relatives.
Lifestyle and nutrition of the giant Asian hornet
The Asiatic giant hornet leads the same way of life as all other members of the genus Vespa.
Hornets live in paper nests made of chewed pieces of young tree bark, held together by sticky salivary secrets. A new founding family is giving birth, which at the beginning of the warm season simply lays several eggs in the place where the nest will grow.
At first, the female itself obtains food for the larvae, cares for and cares for them. However, a month after laying eggs, young hornets hatch out of them, which, in turn, take care of feeding new larvae and protecting the family. The uterus severely limits its role - it continues to lay eggs until the end of life.
In the food, the hornet Vespa Mandarinia is picky: the basis of its diet consists of various insects.The huge Asian hornet will also not mind eating meat or beached fish, fruits and berries. Unlike adult individuals, the larvae feed exclusively on animal food, however, this feature is characteristic of all other hornets of the genus Vespa.
It is interesting
Hornets practically never use their venomous sting for food. They kill other insects with powerful jaws, which literally crush the chitin integuments of their victims.
The world's largest hornet is widespread quite widely: it is found throughout Southeast Asia and reaches the Russian Primorye, where it is fairly common and numerous.
It is worth noting that the species Vespa Mandarinia at different points in its range is divided into several subspecies. For example, in Japan, for example, lives subspecies Japanese huge hornet, endemic only for island territories.
In general, hornets of this species are common in different biotopes, but most of all they prefer forests and various light groves. Thus, to meet the Asian hornet in the highlands, steppe and desert areas will not work.
The poison of Vespa Mandarinia and its effect on man
The Asian giant hornet is very poisonous: its poison is considered one of the most toxic among all insects in general. However, due to the fact that this huge predator does not inject a whole supply of poison into a wound, in general, the bite of the Asian hornet is extremely painful, but for a healthy person with a normally functioning immune system does not pose a deadly danger.
On a note
Every year in Japan, about 40 people die from the bites of giant hornets. Thus, the hornets here set a kind of anti-record - no other wild animal can boast of such indicators.
Photo sting Asian hornet:
Due to the presence of several protein toxins in the venom of the hornets, its entry into the soft tissues immediately activates the lysis of the cells, which is accompanied by instant edema and inflammation. The presence of histamine and acetylcholine in the poison - substances that provide an immediate immune response and transmission of neuromuscular reactions - causes a sharp pain effect, sometimes accompanied by a shock in the victim.
Feedback
“After the bite of the hornet, I spent three weeks in the hospital.I had a huge swelling on the whole side, I could not move my hand. The bite itself is simply monstrous - as if a drill is being drilled into the body with an ordinary drill. When the insect bit me, I barely had time to reach the house and lost consciousness. Already his wife called doctors. And one of my friends died a year ago from the attack of hornets. ”
Tai Won Xing, Jilin
Extensive tissue edema, which has already been mentioned above, increased heart rate, headaches, and fever, is considered a typical response of the body to a hornet bite.
However, in people who are sensitive to insect toxins, even one bite of a giant hornet can cause anaphylactic shock and death. If there were numerous bites, in this case, even for a healthy person, the attack is fraught with tissue necrosis, extensive hemorrhages and damage to internal organs.
Breeding giant hornets
Now let's look at how the procreation of the genus Vespa Mandarinia occurs. Here are a few key points.
- The family of giant hornets exists no more than one year.
- When the housing of these huge wasps grows to a decent size, and the workers themselves become quite a lot, the uterus begins to lay eggs, from which males and females are capable of breeding.
- At a certain point, these mature individuals swarm and mate, after which the young males die, and the females seek shelter for themselves and remain in them until spring.
- By the rainy season (and in the Primorye region, by the winter), the old family is completely dying out, as the queen ceases to lay new eggs.
It should be noted that sometimes all the hornets of Vespa do not live to see the time of natural death, because they die from ticks or infections.
Disaster for man or a decoration of nature?
In a global sense, giant Asian hornets are, of course, dangerous to humans, but this danger is not critical, since it is completely and completely provoked by the person himself. These insects are not very aggressive in nature, they will attack only in self-defense or defense of the nest.
Hornets cause much greater harm to apiaries, especially to those on which less aggressive European honey bees are bred. Sometimes the hornets have time to destroy a whole bee family in a few hours, and therefore local beekeepers are engaged in an ongoing, systematic struggle.
In general, the mortality from the bites of giant hornets is quite high: in some regions, up to 100 people die in a year.But in fairness it should be said that most of the dead are those beekeepers who without special protective equipment actively destroy the nests of hornets and, as a result, fall under their massive attacks.
A simple tourist who happened to be in the forest near the hornet Vespa Mandarinia should not be afraid of this insect - it will not attack without a reason.
On a note
In the West, many dietary supplements are added to synthetic substances, similar to the secret contained in the developing larvae of hornets. It is believed that these components increase human endurance. However, there is no experimental evidence for these statements.
In conclusion, it should be noted that for wildlife, giant hornets are one of the most active natural orderlies. They successfully destroy many pests of forests and agriculture, so they are useful and deserve protection in most biocenoses, including on agricultural lands.
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