The Japanese giant hornet (Oo-Suzumebachi) is large and fearsome, but it is not particularly aggressive unless it feels threatened.
Workers forage to feed their siblings. Their diet consists of a wide range of insects, including crop pests,
and for this reason the hornets are regarded as beneficial. The workers
dismember the bodies of their victims to return only the most
nutrient-rich body parts, such as flight muscles, to the nest. There,
the workers chew the prey into a paste before feeding the larvae who in
return produce a fluid consumed by the workers. This fluid is known as
vespa amino acid mixture (VAAM). The fluid enables intensive muscle
activities over extended periods, allowing them to fly 100 kilometres
(62 mi) per day and reach up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph).
Synthetic VAAM is being produced artificially as a dietary supplement to
increase athletic performance[citation needed]
In many Japanese mountain villages, the hornet is considered a delicacy when fried.[1]
The Japanese giant hornet has a venom which is injected by the 6.25 mm-long (quarter-inch) stinger and attacks the nervous system and damages tissues of its victims.[1]
Tests with mice find the venom not to be among the most lethal, having an LD50 of 4.1 mg/kg, which compares to the deadliest wasp venom (to mice) by weight of Vespa luctuosa at 1.6 mg/kg. The potency of the sting is due to the relatively large amount of venom injected.[2]
Being stung is extremely painful and requires hospital treatment. On average 40 people die every year of anaphylactic shock after having been stung,[1]
which makes the Japanese giant hornet the most lethal animal in Japan
(bears kill about ten people and venomous snakes kill five to ten people
each year).
Showing posts with label suzumebachi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suzumebachi. Show all posts
18.6.12
Oo-Suzumebachi (Japanese giant hornet)
The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the subspecies Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica),[1]
The Japanese giant hornet is large and fearsome, but it is not particularly aggressive unless it feels threatened. The potency of its sting derives from the relatively large amount of venom it is able to inject with each sting.[2] Being stung is extremely painful and requires hospital treatment. On average 40 people die every year of anaphylactic shock after having been stung,[1] which makes the Japanese giant hornet the most lethal animal in Japan, as bears kill about ten people and venomous snakes kill five to ten people each year.
The Japanese giant hornet has three small, simple eyes on the top of the head between the two large compound eyes. As the name implies it is endemic to the Japanese islands, where it prefers rural areas where it can find trees to nest in. [1] In Japan it is known as the Oo-Suzumebachi (オオスズメバチ（大雀蜂、大胡蜂）, literally "Giant Sparrow Bee").
The Japanese giant hornet is large and fearsome, but it is not particularly aggressive unless it feels threatened. The potency of its sting derives from the relatively large amount of venom it is able to inject with each sting.[2] Being stung is extremely painful and requires hospital treatment. On average 40 people die every year of anaphylactic shock after having been stung,[1] which makes the Japanese giant hornet the most lethal animal in Japan, as bears kill about ten people and venomous snakes kill five to ten people each year.
The Japanese giant hornet has three small, simple eyes on the top of the head between the two large compound eyes. As the name implies it is endemic to the Japanese islands, where it prefers rural areas where it can find trees to nest in. [1] In Japan it is known as the Oo-Suzumebachi (オオスズメバチ（大雀蜂、大胡蜂）, literally "Giant Sparrow Bee").
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