Asian giant hornets are the largest hornets in the world. These hornets can reach up to 2 inches in length with a wingspan of 3 inches. Compare this to the common yellowjacket in North America which grows to only half-an-inch long.  The queens and drones are similar in size and much larger than the workers.

Regardless of sex, each Asian giant hornet has the light orange head, dark brown thorax, and banded bottom.

They reside in the temperate and tropical forests of Eastern Asia. They prefer low forests and mountains, avoiding high-altitude environments.

Asian giant hornets eat medium-to-large-sized insets such as bees and mantises. If an Asian giant hornet finds a honey bee hive, it will secrete pheromones to lead other hornets from its colony to overtake the hive. These hornets are fighting masters so a single Asian giant hornet can take out up to 40 honey bees in under a minute using their large mandible. They will feed the adult honey bees and their larvae to the hornet queen and its own larvae.

Unlike queen bees, the queen Asian giant hornet builds the colony’s nest on her own. Once the nest is built in the spring, the queen will lay an egg in each cell, which will hatch in a week. The Asian giant hornet will then go through five stages within just 14 days to become adults. By the late summer, the colony population will be around 700 workers, most of which are female.

Their deadly stinger is .25-inches long and can be used multiple times to deliver its potent venom that contains 8 different chemical substances.

The Asian giant hornet navigates and communicates using visual and chemical methods. Even though one hornet can take out so many honey bees, there is still a chance the hornet may become overwhelmed by them. Therefore, if an Asian giant hornet finds a honey bee hive, it will secrete pheromones into the air so that hornets in its colony will come assist in the fight.

The Asian giant hornet colonies have hornets with three different roles. The workers get food, defend the nest, and take care of the youngest hornets in the colony. Drones fertilize the queen. And the queen lays the eggs and creates a new colony every year.