From one of nature’s most vicious insects to a series of horrifying attacks on humans,
this is what happens when Asian giant hornets attack
Number 5 Chieko Kikuchi 87-year-old Chieko Kikuchi was being transferred
to her home from a treatment facility in the west of Japan, when a swarm of Asian giant
hornets attacked her.
A care worker, who was escorting the wheelchair-bound woman, tried to help but the swarm was too
thick for her to get through.
She called the nursing facility which sent a team of paramedics to the scene.
However, they were misinformed that Kikuchi had already been dragged to safety and arrived
without wearing protective gear.
For nearly an hour the helpless elderly woman was stung over 150 times.
The hornets eventually retreated and she was taken to the hospital but died from her injuries
the following day.
Before we move on to our next listing about a nest found on Vancouver Island, let’s
go through some of the hornet’s physical features.
Today's video was requested by Gabbi.
If you have any other topics you'd like to learn about, subscribe and let us know in
the comments section below.
Vespa mandarinia is the world’s largest hornet and one of the most dangerous insects
in the animal kingdom.
Also known as the Asian giant hornet, this creature is roughly the size of a human thumb
and possesses a stinger that’s upwards of 0.23 inches long.
Its thorax is dark brown and its head is a light shade of orange.
One feature that distinguishes Vespa mandarinia among other hornets is its pronounced clypeus,
the broad plate at the front of its head.
Additionally, the insect’s orange mandible contains a black tooth that’s used for digging.
The Asian giant hornet owns an extremely painful sting through which it delivers neurotoxic
venom that, in large doses, is deadly to humans.
Before we move on, answer this question.
Which of these commercial products is derived from Asian giant hornet secretions?
a.
Perfume b.
Aphrodisiac c.
Energy Drink d.
Candy Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and stay tuned to find out the right answer!
Number 4 Nest Found on Vancouver Island In the fall of 2019, Asian giant hornets were
confirmed for the first time in British Columbia when a nest was found in the city of Nanaimo,
on Vancouver Island.
The discovery of three Vespa mandarinia individuals is what led wildlife authorities to speculate
about a potential nest.
The find sparked concerns among local beekeepers since the hornets are known to decimate entire
bee colonies.
Residents were told not to engage the insects since their venom is potentially lethal.
Within a week of the first Asian giant hornet reports the nest was located and destroyed
using carbon dioxide.
Nobody knows how the hornets had gotten to the island in the first place.
Some specimens were kept in hopes of uncovering the mystery.
Coming up next, a Thai tour guide gets stung to death and beyond, but, before we get to
that, let’s learn more about the life and whereabouts of this terrifying insect.
Finding a nest on Vancouver Island was definitely an anomaly as Asian giant hornets, much like
their name implies, are endemic to the Asian continent.
Countries known for their presence include China, Taiwan and southern parts of Russia.
They’re also found throughout Indochina, in countries like India, Thailand, Nepal,
Vietnam or Cambodia.
Rural Japan is where Vespa mandarinia is most common, where it’s colloquially known as
the “giant sparrow bee”.
These hornets typically nest in lowland forests and low mountain foothills.
They almost exclusively live in subterranean nests and have a preference for rotten pine
roots.
The hornets will create their own tunnels, which are often an extension of those already
dug by burrowing animals, such as snakes or rodents.
Asian giant hornets are eusocial animals, with a queen, which is considerably larger
than the others, drones and workers.
They will coordinate raids on other insects and attacks on intruders, including humans,
by stinging them repeatedly.
Number 3 Sanchai Phaoarun In October, 2019, Sanchai Phaoarun was taking
a French couple on a guided tour of Chang Mai, in the north of Thailand.
About half-way through the mountain trek they accidentally disturbed a hornets nest.
Within seconds, the angry insects attacked them and started delivering vicious stings.
As they were trying to flee, Phaoarun tripped and fell to the ground.
The hornets concentrated their attack on the tour guide, which gave the terrified couple
enough time to escape.
They managed to reach safety and were subsequently treated for the stings they’d suffered.
Phaoarun wasn’t so fortunate.
He was killed in the attack and the hornets kept stinging his body for three more days.
Rescue workers had trouble retrieving his remains as they got attacked as well.
It was only after they donned heavy firefighter suits that they were able to get Phaoarun’s
body away from the hornets.
Now, let’s take a look at how the Asian giant hornet can kill you and after that we’ll
learn about the strategic and ruthless manner in which they go after other insects.
It isn’t hard to imagine what a hornet colloquially known as the yak-killer can do to human beings.
In Japan alone the Asian giant hornet claims 30 to 40 lives ever year.
One researcher has described its sting, claiming it felt “like a hot nail being driven into
my leg”.
Although intense, the pain isn’t the most dangerous aspect of an Asian giant hornet’s
sting.
The venom it injects has a neurotoxin called mandaratoxin, which destroys red blood cells.
It’s strong enough to dissolve human tissue and victims will sometimes be left with deep
holes at the site of the sting.
People who are allergic can go into anaphylactic shock or suffer cardiac arrest from an individual
attack.
That being said, even people who aren’t allergic can die if they sustain multiple
stings, which contribute to a higher degree of envenomation.
They may suffer hemorrhaging, necrosis and multiple organ failure.
Asian giant hornets are aggressive and will swarm any perceived threat to their nest,
stinging it repeatedly until it either dies or flees.
The average sting count for fatalities is approximately 59 but even significantly less
than that should be treated as a medical emergency.
Number 2 Expert Bee Killers Asian giant hornets are the deadly assassins
of the insect kingdom, the dread of honey bees, other hornet species and virtually any
medium to large insect in their range.
It’s the only social wasp species known to apply scent to a food source which will
subsequently allow others in its nest to track it.
A few scouts will locate a bee hive and mark it with pheromones so that a larger attack
can take place.
A single hornet can travel about 60 miles in a single day at speeds of up to 25 miles
per hour.
Once the bee hive is marked it’s basically sentenced to complete destruction.
It takes less than 50 hornets to exterminate a colony of thousands of honey bees within
a few hours.
The Asian giant hornet is five times the size of a honey bee and heavily armored so bee
stings can’t get through.
It will use its massive mandibles to decapitate bees and a single hornet can kill as many
as 40 bees per minute.
Adult hornets drink the juices of their victims or chew their prey into a paste which they
then feed to the larvae.
Asian giant hornets are ruthless apex predators and won’t hesitate to even cannibalize each
other’s colonies.
Up next there’s the most devastating Asian giant hornet attack in recent years, but first
let’s see how we can avoid, as well as deal with, their notorious sting.
So, which product is based on Asian giant hornet secretions?
The right answer was c, energy drink.
Companies in Europe and Asia have developed energy drinks as well as nutritional supplements
using synthetic versions of larval hornet saliva.
The Vespa mandarinia derived products claim to improve performance during exercise.
In laboratory settings, the results were promising when the “hornet juice” was given to mice
but human trial testing proved inconclusive.
These hornets tend to be more active during the fall or at the time of their breeding
season.
They’re attracted to cologne or perfume and agitated by the smell of alcohol.
Stay away from nests.
If you do get swarmed don’t run as they’ll most likely chase you.
Crouch, cover your head and try not to move.
Conventional wisdom suggests that you should seek medical help if you’ve been stung more
than 10 times while being stung over 30 times should be treated as a medical emergency.
Organ failure can be a consequence of multiple stings so treatment may involve dialysis to
remove the toxins from your body.
Additional care and stitches may be required for any wounds in your skin caused by the
massive stingers.
If you know you’re allergic to bee stings, getting medical help is the first priority.
Anaphylaxis symptoms include having trouble breathing, nausea, an elevated heartbeat and
swelling in the hands, face or tongue.
Carry an epinephrine auto-injector and inject yourself in the outer muscle of the thigh
if you begin to exhibit signs of anaphylaxis.
You should get to an emergency room even after the symptoms have dissipated.
If you aren’t allergic and haven’t suffered multiple stings don’t rub the wound as it
will contribute towards spreading the venom.
You can use an ice pack for the pain and inflammation.
Number 1 Attack in Shaanxi The 2013 attack in Shaanxi, China, is the
most recent incident involving large-scale Asian giant hornet attacks.
It was a combination of unusually dry water in the area, urbanization that moved into
hornets’ habitats and a decrease in their natural enemies such as a certain bird and
spider species.
Over the summer and early fall, swarms descended upon unsuspecting farm workers and invaded
schools full of children.
One woman was attacked while looking after her millet crop and described the attack as
“horrifying”.
She told a media outlet “they hit right at my head and covered my legs.
All of a sudden, I was stung and I couldn’t move”.
Even after 200 stitches and 13 dialysis treatments the woman was still hospitalized and couldn’t
move her legs.
Thousands of volunteers and police officers were deployed to destroy hundreds of nests.
When the dust settled, the attacks in Shaanxi had resulted in 42 deaths and over 1,500 injuries.
Thanks for watching!
Would you rather be attacked by a swarm of Asian giant hornets or have your ex’s name
tattooed on a body part of your choosing?
Let us know in the comments section below!