Reproduction

In fall the adult males and new queens will emerge. Males leave first and wait at the entrance of a nest for new queens which emerge roughly 1 month later. Mating must take place before winter when the males will pass.

Queens then overwinter in a sheltered space and emerge at the start of spring. She is fertilized and feeds on sap while seeking out a site where they can nest. This is often a pre-existing site such as a rodent burrow.

She will initially care for the first eggs and young herself. By the time there are 40 though they will begin to care for the duties outside of the nest and the queen will become a resident.

After leaving their egg the young Asian giant hornet is a larvae. They must go through five larval stages to reach adult size. Larvae are feed on a paste of regurgitated food by the workers.

After completing their larval stage they will enter a pupal phase during which they spend 18 days in a cocoon.

When many workers are present they begin to produce males and queens. Males develop from unfertilized eggs while females emerge from fertilized eggs.

Behavior

They have a longer stinger than the average bee or wasp and their venom is considered more toxic. As such you should exercise caution if near an Asian giant hornet.

When they sting the stinger is not punctured as in bees.

Predators and Threats

Birds of prey such as the honey buzzard may prey on them.

Asian giant hornets affect honeybee populations as they feed on honeybees and their brood. Groups of 10 to 20 hornets enter a nest and can kill as many as 30,000 individual bees in an hour.

Asian honey bees can defend themselves through a unique strategy. They will surround a hornet in a tight pack and then bear their wings generating heat which will raise the hornet's body temperature and kill them.

In their native range the species is considered to be relatively abundant.

Quick facts

They may also be known as the "giant sparrow wasp." Their habit of killing bees has led to the name "murder hornet."