Is murder hornet really murderous?

Do you know what a hornet is? No? Well, it is a large wasp (belonging to the genus Vespa) that have two known characteristics – one, exhibiting a brown and yellow striped body and the other is the amazing ability to inflict a serious sting (much like a scorpion). Now, like most species, hornet too has different types. However, it is the murder hornet that always steals the limelight for its sinister name. How much do humans need to fear these hornets? Are they really murderous? Well, yes and no! Read on to know more.

Murder hornet: The largest hornet in the world 
That’s right! Also known as Asian giant hornet or the northern giant hornet, it is indeed the largest hornet in the world with a size of 2 inches. It is native to the temperate and tropical Asia but can be found as far as Russia in the northeast and Thailand in the far south. Prior to 2019, murder hornet sightings were unknown in the North American continent, but it started in a limited number and continued till 2021. Scientists believe they travelled all the way there because of their largely invasive nature. Their females are called queens and males are called drones!  

Decoding the name murder hornet 
The name ‘murder’ hornet indeed sounds evil and scary. But that makes us wonder how dangerous really is the species? Well, as it turns out, for humans, the stings of murder hornet can certainly hurt as the stingers go deep almost a quarter of an inch long. This makes it difficult to keep them away as they can even pierce through beekeeping gears. But having said that, murder hornet is usually unthreatening unless it’s for people who are allergic to their stings. Also, these flying hornets hardly attack humans unless they feel threatened. 

Murder hornet vs. Honeybees 
Interestingly, murder hornets can sting more than once unlike honeybees. Now, talking about honeybees, this is where it gets interesting. Turns out, murder hornets attack honeybees almost like murderers. Usually, the Asian giant hornet hunts alone. However, this drastically changes when it comes near a beehive. What happens then? Well, they release a pheromone that instantly attracts hundreds of other murder hornets. Guess what they do together? Wreck complete havoc on the beehive. At first, they sting the bees left and right and then bite off their heads using their mandibles. Wait, that’s not it. They also carry on the violence by carrying the larvae from the hives into their own nests and then feast on them. How vicious, isn’t it?  

So, it’s not just that the murder hornet brutally murders the adult bees, they also make sure that there are no one left behind (not even the babies) for counterattacks. 

However, over the years, the honeybees too have learned to fight back. As soon as they notice a hornet in the vicinity and before it can start releasing pheromone, female honeybees swarm around the hornet and beat their wings in rapid motion. This, in turn, makes the hive warm and produces carbon dioxide. Guess what this gas does? It instantly kills the murder hornet. But it’s only the honeybees that can defend themselves. The rest of the bees become the victims of murder hornets and how!  

Lives in others’ homes 
Another weird nature of murder hornet is that they never build their own homes. Instead, they wait for rodents to dig holes for them and then just invade the space by attacking them in a group. Once they take over the burrows underground, they build nests there using rotten pine roots.