---
title: "What the sources say about the Asian Giant Hornet | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Asian Giant Hornet profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Asian Giant Hornet (*Vespa mandarinia*)

> 46 claims from the Asian Giant Hornet profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Asian Giant Hornet](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/asian-giant-hornet/)

## Nuñez-Penichet et al. (2021). Geographic potential of the world’s largest hornet, Vespa mandarinia Smith (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), worldwide and particularly in North America. PeerJ.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10690

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The world's largest hornet, whose raiding parties can kill thousands of honeybees in a few hours. | This social insect is the world’s largest hornet (2.5–4.5 cm body length) (note: tagline: largest hornet from nunez-2021; raids claimed from psu-agh next) |
| This is the world's largest hornet | This social insect is the world’s largest hornet (2.5–4.5 cm body length) (note: size figures moved to Penn State's worker/queen scope (next claims); Nunez-Penichet's 2.5-4.5 cm species range conflicts with Penn State's queens over 2 in, so the page gives each caste as the current extension page does) |
| It lives naturally across Asia, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan. | occurs naturally across Asia, including in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan |
| Its colonies last one year and die at the onset of winter | annual colonies of the AGH, which ... die at the onset of winter |
| which overwinter in underground cavities | mated queens overwinter in underground cavities |
| A giant with a one-year colony | This social insect is the world’s largest hornet (2.5–4.5 cm body length) (note: heading: 'giant' from largest hornet; one-year colony from the annual-colony claim) |

## Northern Giant Hornets. Penn State Extension, 2025.

http://extension.psu.edu/asian-giant-hornets

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| whose raiding parties can kill thousands of honeybees in a few hours | If they enter the slaughter phase, a group of 20–30 northern giant hornets can kill 5,000–25,000 honey bees in a few hours. |
| with nests mostly underground | Northern giant hornets typically build their nests underground (note: stats.habitat: 'mostly' carries the source's 'typically') |
| Forests and low mountains across Asia, with nests mostly underground | Northern giant hornets typically build their nests underground |
| Insects, especially honeybees in late summer and autumn, plus tree sap | Northern giant hornets, like other social wasps, are predators of other insects. For reasons that aren't clear, northern giant hornets switch from other prey sources to honey bees beginning in August and peaking in September and October. |
| Raiding parties that can kill 5,000 to 25,000 honeybees in a few hours | If they enter the slaughter phase, a group of 20–30 northern giant hornets can kill 5,000–25,000 honey bees in a few hours. |
| From August, the giant hornet switches from other prey to honeybees, and that bee-hunting peaks in September and October. | northern giant hornets switch from other prey sources to honey bees beginning in August and peaking in September and October |
| One hornet can kill many bees but is unlikely to destroy a whole colony. | While an individual hornet can kill many bees in this manner, it is not likely to destroy the honey bee colony. |
| When three or more hornets from the same nest hit one hive, they can enter a state called the "slaughter phase". | when three or more hornets from the same nest attack the same honey bee hive, they can enter a state that has been referred to as the "slaughter phase" |
| A group of 20 to 30 can kill 5,000 to 25,000 honeybees in a few hours. | If they enter the slaughter phase, a group of 20–30 northern giant hornets can kill 5,000–25,000 honey bees in a few hours. |
| they keep the muscle-rich thorax, the bee's middle section. They drop the head, abdomen and legs and carry the thorax home as a "meatball". | they only utilize the muscle-rich bee thorax and discard the head, abdomen, and legs. After the bee is killed, the hornet prepares the thorax into a "meatball," which is carried back to the nest. |
| The hornets want protein | Because the hornets are targeting bees for protein |
| When the colony is decimated, the hornets move into the hive and eat the young bees there, making trips back to their nest for several days and up to two weeks. | The slaughter continues until the colony is decimated and only a few bees remain. The hornets then enter the "occupation phase," where they enter the honey bee hive and predate the pupae and larvae, as well as the bees they had previously killed. During this phase, the hornets make continual trips from the occupied hive to their nest for several days to up to two weeks as they devour the honey bee brood. |
| European honeybees, the kind kept for honey, did not evolve alongside the hornet. They do not form the ball. Their guards fight hornets one by one in the air, and the much larger hornet always wins. | western/European honey bees ( Apis mellifera ), which are the species used in commercial honey production and did not coevolve with northern giant hornets, do not form balls around hornets in this manner. Rather, individual guard bees attack the hornets in the air away from the nest. In this contest, the much larger hornet always wins. |
| queens can exceed 2 inches (5 cm), with a wingspan of 3 inches (7.6 cm) | Northern giant hornet queens are among the largest wasps in the world and can grow in excess of 2 inches with a wingspan of 3 inches. (note: cm conversions added (2 in = 5.1 cm, rounded to 5; 3 in = 7.6 cm)) |
| Workers can grow to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long | Northern giant hornet workers (Figures 1, 2) can grow to 1.5 inches in length (note: cm conversion added (1.5 in = 3.8 cm)) |
| Nests are typically underground, usually in abandoned rodent burrows in forests, often in association with pine roots. | Northern giant hornets typically build their nests underground, usually in abandoned rodent burrows in forests, often in association with pine roots |
| Of 1,756 nests examined in Japan, only three were above ground. | Aerial nests are rare– of 1,756 nests examined in Japan, only three were constructed above ground. |
| The only survivors are queens | When winter arrives, the current season's nests die out, and the only individuals that survive are overwintering queens. (note: replaces ADW 2013 'Queens live for up to one year': no current source gives that figure, so lifespan is stated from Penn State's annual cycle) |
| Queens fight off the males, which leaves up to 65% of them unfertilized | queens fight off the males, which results in a large percentage (up to 65%) not being fertilized |
| Both fertilized and unfertilized queens overwinter, but only fertilized queens go on to found new nests the following year | Both fertilized and unfertilized queens overwinter, but only fertilized queens go on to found new nests the following year. |
| Giant hornet stings are extremely painful. | Stings from northern giant hornets, when they do occur, are extremely painful. |
| Per unit of volume, the venom is less deadly than that of some North American wasps. Its LD50, the dose that kills half of the animals tested, is 4.0 mg/kg against the southern yellowjacket's 3.5 mg/kg (lower means deadlier). | The venom of northern giant hornets isn't even as deadly as some native wasps on a per-volume basis; for example, southern yellowjacket venom has an LD 50 of 3.5 mg/kg compared to 4.0 mg/kg for northern giant hornets. (note: the LD50 definition and 'lower means deadlier' are the standard meaning of the term, added for readers; 'North American' renders Penn State's 'native' (a Pennsylvania page; the southern yellowjacket is North American)) |
| But a giant hornet is big, so each sting delivers more venom. | northern giant hornets are large and deliver a proportionally large volume of venom per sting, so on a per sting basis are delivering more venom |
| Its sting is extremely painful, but it does not hunt people. | they do not seek people out just to sting them for no reason |
| It can turn defensive when its nest is threatened, or when it is guarding food such as a hive it has taken over. | can be defensive when they feel their nest is threatened or when they are defending a food source, such as an occupied honey bee hive |
| Deaths are reported at 50 a year across its whole Asian range, mostly from allergic reactions, and more rarely from multiple organ failure due to a large number of stings. | Northern giant hornets have been reported to kill 50 people a year due to sting-induced allergic reactions and, more rarely, multiple organ failure due to a large number of stings. (note: PSU: 'the reported death count is from across the entire range of northern giant hornets, which includes large swaths of eastern Asia'; 'mostly' carries 'more rarely' for organ failure) |
| In July 2022 the Entomological Society of America approved that name for Vespa mandarinia, which reflects that the species is found in the northern areas of its native range. | In July 2022, the Entomological Society of America, which regulates the common names of insects in North America, accepted common name "northern giant hornet" for Vespa mandarinia as it reflects the fact that they are found in northern areas in their native range. |
| English had no accepted name before, and "Asian giant hornet" was the one people used most. | Prior to this, there was no accepted common name for V. mandarinia in English. Before the name northern giant hornet was accepted, Asian giant hornet was the common name most frequently used for the species in English |
| One hive, a few hours, thousands of bees | a group of 20–30 northern giant hornets can kill 5,000–25,000 honey bees in a few hours |
| dangerLevel: Deadly | Northern giant hornets have been reported to kill 50 people a year due to sting-induced allergic reactions and, more rarely, multiple organ failure due to a large number of stings. (note: task #1009; Deadly is 'Capable of killing a human', and multiple organ failure from many stings is the venom itself, not only allergy) |

## Ugajin et al. (2012). Detection of Neural Activity in the Brains of Japanese Honeybee Workers during the Formation of a “Hot Defensive Bee Ball”. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032902

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| When a foraging hornet tries to enter a Japanese honeybee hive, more than 500 workers can form a ball around it and vibrate their flight muscles. The heat inside the ball rises to almost 47°C, which is lethal to the hornet but not to the honeybees. | If a foraging hornet tries to enter the beehive, a group of more than 500 workers quickly forms a spherical assemblage called a ‘hot defensive bee ball’, trapping the hornet inside the ball. In the ball formation, honeybees vibrate their flight muscles to produce heat. The temperature in the ball quickly rises to almost 47°C, which is lethal to the hornet but not to the honeybees. (note: Ugajin's hornet is V. mandarinia japonica and its bee Apis cerana japonica; Penn State now treats japonica as a colour morph of V. mandarinia, not a subspecies, so the scope holds for the species) |
| Japanese honeybees kill an invading giant hornet by balling around it and vibrating their flight muscles until the heat reaches almost 47°C | If a foraging hornet tries to enter the beehive, a group of more than 500 workers quickly forms a spherical assemblage called a ‘hot defensive bee ball’, trapping the hornet inside the ball. In the ball formation, honeybees vibrate their flight muscles to produce heat. The temperature in the ball quickly rises to almost 47°C, which is lethal to the hornet but not to the honeybees. (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body claim "When a foraging hornet tries to enter a Japanese honeybee hi") |

## Hirano & Tanikawa (2020). Ocular Injury Caused by the Sprayed Venom of the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia). Case Reports in Ophthalmology.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000508911

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Defending its nest, it can also spray venom from its stinger. | to defend their nests against intruders, they attack not only by stinging but by spraying venom from their stingers |
| One case report describes a 77-year-old man who was not stung, yet venom sprayed into his eye left him with iris atrophy and a mature cataract. | injury in the right eye of a 77-year-old man which was caused by the venom of the Asian giant hornet ( Vespa mandarinia ). The patient was not stung, rather the venom was sprayed into his eye. Although the injured eye was washed as a first aid treatment, persistent corneal defect, corneal endothelial decompensation, iris atrophy, pupil dilation, and mature cataract were observed |

## Barth, Kearns & Wason (2013). Vespa mandarinia. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vespa_mandarinia/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Forests and low mountains across Asia, with nests mostly underground | tends to live in low mountains and/or forested areas |
| plus tree sap | frequently eats tree sap, especially in oaks |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List Not Evaluated (note: No Red List assessment exists: the prefetch found none via GBIF or Crossref (Vespa mandarinia has no category). ADW's 2013 page says Not Evaluated; keep as is, no assessment DOI cited.) |
| a broad orange head | has a broad head that is a light shade of orange |

## Hornets. Washington State Department of Agriculture.

https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Washington state's agriculture department found and destroyed four nests in Whatcom County in 2020 and 2021. | WSDA located and eradicated four northern giant hornet nests in Whatcom County in 2020-2021. |
| After three years with no confirmed detections, it and the USDA declared the hornet eradicated from Washington and the United States. | After three years without confirmed detections, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have declared the northern giant hornet ( Vespa mandarinia ) eradicated from Washington and the United States. |