The Asian giant hornet
Before I get into the topic of the day, I wanted to make sure I am very clear: as of the latest confirmation the only finding of Asian giant hornets in the United States is in Washington state. That confirmation is from May 2020 in print, plus I did an email confirmation with one of our UGA entomologist recently too.
A flurry of recent press coverage in late spring and early summer has created a surge of interest in the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia. The insect was found last September 2019 in Vancouver Island (Canada) and again December 2019 in Washington state. To this date, this invasive insect is not present in Georgia or east of the Mississippi.
Today’s coulmn is to give you some background on the Asian giant hornet including links to other resourceful information.
The Asian giant hornet is a “true” hornet and is the world’s largest hornet. They can range in size from 1.5 to over 2 inches in length.
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It should be noted that in Japan, 30-50 people die from being stung by these hornets annually.
The venom is considered not the most lethal among bees and wasps, but due to the size of the hornet, the dose is larger than any other stinging insect Americans normally would encounter.
Human sting deaths are biased towards individuals who are prone to anaphylactic reactions or to people that receive large number of stings.
Keep in mind that our information states that Asian giant hornets are not necessarily aggressive towards humans, livestock or pets, but will sting if provoked. One major problem with the Asian giant hornet is the major damage they can cause to honey bee colonies. A bee keeper should research and learn about the issues with this hornet. The phase program of how an Asian giant hornet can attack a colony of honey bees can result in the death of 30,000 honey bees in a colony with in hours. They can totally wipe out a bee colony and take the hive over.
Again, there is no confirmation of the Asian giant hornets in our area, but something I think bee keepers should be aware of along with people that can have serious health issues associated with stings.
I have not been flooded with calls on people thinking they have seen Asian giant hornets, but there have been a few.
The reason is there are other insects that can look like the Asian hornets from a distance.
They can be confused with bumble bees, honey bees, black and yellow mud dauber, bald-faced hornets, southern yellowjacket, eastern cicada killers, wasps and the European hornet.
Again, I will provide links that can help you learn more on the Asian giant hornet, including appearance.
Keep in mind that Asian giant hornets will nest in the ground. A mature nest will have four to 12 combs with up to 3,000 cells, per our information.
They are easily confused with other native and non-native insects in our area such as I just listed. Their key characteristics include size, thorax and abdomen color and enlarged head.
Perhaps the insect the Asian giant hornet is most confused with is the European hornet, which can be close in size in the
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At the time, we need to be vigilant but not over-reactive since, again, there is no evidence that the Asian giant hornet has made it to our area. Please note that potential sightings and/or disturbances to honey bee colonies should be reported. If you think you have seen an Asian giant hornet, found evidence of an attack such as decapitated or ripped apart bees or have a specimen, please email or call me at the office.
Check out the following links that may be helpful in the resource or identification process — The Georgia Department of Agriculture at http://www.agr.georgia.gov/ invasive-pests.aspx and also Washington State Department site at https://wastatedeptag.blogspot.com/2019/12/pest-alertasian-giant-hornet.html.