Not afraid of bees? You should! Check out this Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) commonly referred to as the Sparrow Bee, a monster with a standing record as the worlds largest Hornet! It can be as long as your pinkie and have a total wingspan (wing to wing) the length of your hand!
Not allergic to bee Stings? Doesn’t matter with this killer! If the hornet injects enough venom in you, you could die regardless. People stung by this giant say that it’s like having a nail driven into your skin, that’s because the venom causes the arachidonic acid to be released from the phospholipid membrane disproportionately ( or in simpler terms, it eats away at your flesh).
You’ll feel this 1/4 inch stinger which is the size of the tip of your pen (think of a staple, but half the size) and because it doesn’t have an ridges, the stinger can be stab you multiple times – talk about a bee sting!*@
The hunt starts with this killer hornet locating a hive of honey bees; the scout then sneaks in as close as possible to its prey and sprays the area with a pheromone which serve as a road map for reinforcements. A few Giant Hornets can slaughter a hive of 30,000 honey bees within three hours leaving only severed heads and limbs – talk about a disadvantage!
The honey bees have to act fast and being at such a disadvantage, their only hope is to trick the hornet into entering the hive. They accomplish this by moving away from the hive and letting the hornet believe that the honey is unprotected. If the giant hornet takes the bait and enters the hive, hundreds of honey bees hiding inside ambush the intruder covering it with their bodies and gyrating their flight muscles to generates incredible heat. The temperature rises to 115 to 117 degrees Fahrenheit which is just tolerable for a honey bee but kills the giant hornet (it can only handle 113 degrees). The threat is neutralized with the death of the intruder which is unable to bring reinforcements.
Think because you’re human and don’t have honey that this doesn’t concern you? Think again – these giants attack humans as well and more then 40 people die each year from the attack.
Once the hornet has you in it’s sights, there is no use running; it can fly up to speeds of 25 mph and travel up to 60 miles in a day, so it’s little work for the wasp to catch you and begin the onslaught of stinger stabs. I should note here that the wasp does not fly around looking for humans but rather was disturbed and believes it is under attack.
Some of the people that die each year are caught trying to steal the hornets larva. Humans stealing larva? Yep, believe it or not, Many Japanese consider the larva a delicacy and eat them deep fried or as a kind of hornet sushi. If this giant hornet believes it is in danger, it will use an alarm pheromone to alert others that their nest is under attack – when that happens, you better start saying your prayers because the whole nest will mobilize and attack you in their defense! If one can kill, imagine what would happen with a nest!
What to avoid being stung by the Giant Hornet (or any other hornet for that matter)? Then avoid the following:
- Disturbing a nest (including vibrations and loud noises)
- Being within a few meters of a nest
- Disturbing or killing a hornet within a few meters of a nest
- Blocking the path of a hornet
- Breathing on the nest or hornet
- Rapid air movements
National Geographic TV series EXPLORER had an excellent show that graphically covered this and was an absolutely amazing video! The program was called Hornets From Hell.
You’ll see some sites claiming that the giant hornet sprays humans in the eyes with a flesh eating chemical – not true, but it does sting with such a chemical. They are commonly located in China, India and the mountains of Japan.
I think I know now that it was a Cicada killer crawling up my leg, I had just finished golfing and had my bag of clubs in front seat of my truck with me, i’m thinking it got in my bag and then got out, was just looking for a way out, glad i didn’t get stung, not allergic but stings just aren’t pleasant 🙂
I’m still not sure what it was that was crawling up my leg, it looked like a hornet but it was huge, I had never seen anything that looked like a hornet and was that big, i opened my truck door and just swept it off my leg to the ground, it didn’t seem aggressive but I def did not want to find out if it was a stinging insect. This was in Ohio, northeast Ohio that is, anyone know what it might have been, it was bigger than the pic on this site and a much fuller thorax and abdomen and i would say approx. 2-1/2 to 3 inches in length.
We have these things swarming our porch light right now… my daughter was stung the other night on her chin – 7 years old – screaming and shaking! Said it just flew into her neck and stung her. It was terrifying! My wife gave her homeopathics tablets and then used a medicinal bentonite (?) clay poultice under band-aids to pull out the poison — left it on all night.
I’ve been looking up wikipedia and other places and these are European Hornets not Japanese. I think this time (late September, near Asheville, NC) is the time when they 1) leave the nests and 2) mate. And 3) there’s a big frickin’ nest somewhere and they 4) hunt at night and 5) love lights. So maybe it’s a bunch of horny, aggressive, irritable hornets before winter. (Except for the “inseminated” queens who hide out all winter somewhere and then start new nests in the Spring). You know how male bucks get during rut?
Well, these hornets seem drunk on the porch light, are trying to get into the house, and seem “stupid” they are flying around, bumping into things, bumping into the light, nestling down next to the light bulbs when they get indoors and then just resting – are they dying for the winter? Are they queens, drones, or worker bees whose life is coming to an end during fall? Or are they just coming out from their “giant” nest (where is it?!) to hunt for insects, like I read they do at night? I wonder. I wish they were more like bumblebees.
This summer we saw cicada killers flying around our flowers. It was totally unaggressive and didn’t even notice I was there. My boyfriend thought it was a baby hummingbird, so I went up close to check it out and saw it was an insect of some sort. But then the following week, I was refilling the hummingbird feeders and saw the biggest bee ever. It looked exactly like the picture. Yellow with black stripes. It practically stood on its head to extract the nectar. This was in daylight.
I researched and found that it said they were not aggressive. Well, the hummingbirds are trying to land to eat, but the bees kept chasing them away, even as far as up in the trees. That seems pretty aggressive to me. There were 2 of them tag teaming the feeders. I changed the location of the feeders, but this only worked for a couple hours. They chased me and even as I was trying to hose it, it still kept coming. Needless to say I dropped the hose. I understand all creatures have to do their thing, but it mostly upset me because the birds had to suffer.
This is the first year I have seen these type of bees in southern New Jersey. Also this year we saw the cicada killers (killer), scary looking, red and black striped wasp like thing. I don’t think pesticides are gonna be helpful in years to come.
What is this paranoia about Asian giant hornets? There are no Asian giant hornets in North America. They are in Asia! Why go crazy about them.
It is possible that some people are seeing cicada killer wasps. They are big and colorful and very busy catching cicadas to feed their young. They are not interested in stinging you and there are hardly any reports of stings from these beneficial wasps.
They won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Let them be! They are doing a good job in your garden, keeping the cicada population down.
I repeat: think twice before killing any insects! Quite often we end up killing the ones that are helping us and that cause us no harm.
I live in San Antonio, Texas, and I have seen these giant hornet like things that have to be a good 2 inches long flying around, usually near bodies of water, since I am a fisherman, and I have been chased and even nearly attacked by them! You can’t tell me that they aren’t aggressive. They fly like a high speed bomber and I’ve actually had one run full speed into the side of my head!
Hurt like hell! They are mostly black and they don’t hover like other hornets, wasps, and bees seem to do. They move fast like a hummingbird and they fly with their bodies straight out like a bullet. What are these things if they aren’t Japanese Giant Hornets? I’ve seen Cicada Killers and they don’t look like that.
I’m very allergic to bee stings and they scare the crap out of me! Any ideas? South Texas has a lot of wasps and bees and our “beloved” yellow jackets, but these things are in a class by themselves!
Let me tell you this, I live in TRENTON GEORGIA, up on a big ole mountain. Near Chattanooga Tn. We have those Giant Asian Hornets here. I’ve been here seven years and started really noticing them three years ago. Now, I cannot even sit outside on my wonderfully decked front porch and read one chapter of a book. Even today, It’s 12:47pm and I have been semi attacked three times since 9am for nothing but sitting there peacefully reading. Not stung yet, nor hope to ever be. But they seem more aggressive now than ever. They usually do not chase, and when I jump to run (out of fear) they generally take off. Not today, he/she just kept coming at me, even tried getting inside the house twice. I have tried different sprays, and nothing, I MEAN NOTHING works. They just keep flying. I have soaked one with almost an entire bottle and he just jumped around a bit then took off. Don’t waste your money on useless sprays of any kind. Just a little FYI. I was had after I spent over 75.00 in two months time trying to find something to get rid of them or at least kill them when they appeared.
One cool evening I left my door wide open and only a lamp on next to me as I surfed the web. One flew in and was inches from my face. But they are really really attracted to light. And once they find that light they will just hoover around it like blind bats. Anyway, I hooked up vacuum and sucked him it in, left it on five minutes to disable him, and two days later he was dead. YIPPEE. Oh, that was last year. I don’t leave my door open anymore. Though I am considering it, and placing one lamp on bright just to catch them. But I cannot stand moths , mosquito’s or any other night flying bugs and they tend to find that light too. LOL
HELP, other than finding the nest (which is impossible here with millions of trees around us) what else can we do. P.S. The vinegar water sugar method is a waste of time. Trust me, doesn’t work.
OK I am in the Piedmont region of NC. I have always seen the buggers. We lived out in the country near Kernersville and had a nest in the woods next to the house off of our driveway, I gave it wide berth, they just watched us walk around.
For some strange reason, they are attacking my french doors at night, and they have been for a week now. I have lived in this house for 16 years and I have never seen them like this before. One got in the house last weekend, and buzzed me while sitting on the couch and thank the Lord he stung my hair and not me.
My husband got the emergency oar for his boat and was going to play baseball until he dismounted my lamp and I could give him the Raid treatment. That guy was all yellow with black stripes. The one outside now(seriously right now) is all black with yellow stripes and yellow jaws. This morning I found two dead ones at the back door. They are evil evil little things.
Oh and last year my MIL had them get into the soffit area of her house over her back door. My husband emptied an entire can, didn’t phase them. I think they laughed and said “is that all you got”? The exterminator that came, shuddered, used the ‘big guns’ spray….three different times on two different occasions. They just kept coming back.
They will chase you with no provocation. Oh as my husband found out as a young boy, shooting them with BB’s doesn’t work either. They can duck the bead, and then hone in on you.
Sorry, I forgot to note that I frequently see these hornets chasing butterflies, bees, and other bugs in my backyard. I have seen them attack ants as well.
For those that say they are docile, I’m calling BS. I’m in Chesterfield/Midlothian near 360 and 288 and these things are SWARMING! There are about 15 of them attacking my mulberry tree as i type. I have been chased and stung by these things.
When i got stung i was sitting on my deck (they like the deck lights and torches) and it landed on my finger and freaking stung me. I did NOTHING! I was just sitting there. The pain was intense, i became feverish and had chills. I still have a teensy scar on my finger and that was 3yrs ago! I repeat, they WILL CHASE YOU, and they’re very fast.
These suckers are so big i too think that from a distance they resemble a hummingbird.
I have woods behind my house and they live somewhere out there. When i say they are big, I’m talking 3 inches or so.
Be careful golfing, I hit the ball along the tree line and was stung two times before running away. Left the ball, dropped the club, was hesitant to retrieve it. In WV. These things are NO JOKE!
BE CAREFUL especially now in the fall.
Also, what I killed looks just like the European one….it isn’t a Cicada killer according to pics I looked up. I am nervous!
I have these stupid scary things and I am in Newport News, VA too!!! Today I saw four of them swarming around the base of one of my oak trees…..the tree is seeping this stinky stuff that smells fermented….the bees, ants, everything like it….anyway….I grabbed a can of spray….got some balls and ran outside and sprayed them continuously until they were dead….ran back inside and 3 more came to the tree…..I wonder how close the nest is or where it is…I have kids and these are scary!!!
Hornets from Hell is an appropriate name. I’ve seen these guys for the last thirty plus years in Central Virginia. They burrow into tree trunks and at night they seek my garage door light. Two days ago I was stung by one for the first time – I was on my mower. I’ve never felt anything like this before and I have shot a nail into my foot from a nail gun… no comparison. It hurt with a throbbing pain and later resulted in a headache. Two days afterward and I still have get headaches with a nauseous weakness all over. I’m about 220 lbs. If this thing ever stung child I can’t imagine the possibilities.
Okay… I don’t know WHAT they are, but they are here. I live in Aylett, VA, which is in King William County. The first one I encountered was the night of August 1oth. I was up late grading papers, and I heard a loud buzzing. My cats and my dog started chasing the “bug” and I paid little attention to it (figuring it was just a beetle). Something finally caught my attention, though… and I shooed away the animals and killed what turned out to be the largest hornet I have ever seen. Since then, my husband and I have killed six more, all at night. We cannot figure out how they are getting in our house, but we are freaked out.
I am terrified one will sting and kill one of my pets. And, just tonight, I was at Kings Dominion riding the Drop Zone. Guess what buzzed me at 272 feet in the air… and me with no chance to escape. Luckily, no one I know has been stung. And, while these critters may be perfectly safe if you stay away from them, my particular hornets have crossed the boundary by visiting us inside our home. So… where/how do they nest, and how can I get rid of them. Please advise… I am now completely paranoid when I think I hear something buzzing.
Please look up “cicada killer” on Wikipedia. I am certain that what i’m seeing is in fact a cicada killer and, thank goodness, not the giant Japanese hornet. We live in Northern Alabama & I was watering my flower beds and saw/heard what I thought was a humming bird. It was darting around the huge oak tree in our front yard. I was excited to think we may have a sweet little humming bird visiting us. I was out there for about 30 minutes and I didn’t realize it wasn’t a humming bird until my fearless 7 year old said ” look mommy! It’s a queen yellow jacket!” as he is walking towards the bee-zilla of a beast. I freaked and dropped the hose & told my son to walk away. We stood & observed bee-zilla for a minute, from a safe distance, I’m not sure if I was paralyzed with fear or curiosity. It didn’t seem aggressive, just HUGE! I would say it was approximately 3 inches long. It was black & had yellow striping on its abdomen. It just walked around on the side of my house for a moment then flew away. As for the garden hose, it stayed where I threw it until the next morning… After reading up on bee-zilla and getting a little freaked about a sting that causes necrosis, I hoped that this had to be a beast of a different sort. I read about the confusion between thd cicada killer & these other giant wasp species…..
Cicada killers: have very similar markings as the Japanese hornets & giant European hornet. The females are larger than males and CAN sting if grabbed too tightly, stepped on by barefeet, etc. But they do not pursue humans to sting them. Females are usually solitary. Males CANNOT sting at all but do fly at anything that is near their nest. Both sexes can bite but it is believed they cannot bite through human skin. Males will fly in groups of 2 or more. The species burrows in the ground & are active around July through the end of summer. Generally Wikipedia describes them as a docile species. They will be prominent where cicadas are prominent. This brings me comfort alone because every night we hear the cicada symphony going on & every morning i’m skimming cicadas out of my pool.
I don’t normally post anything but given the fear these guys are putting into a lot of people, including myself, I hope by doing so it will give a little relief. I’m not saying that there aren’t any other crazy wasp/hornet species out there flying around, but, as for us here in Northern Alabama, the cicada killer seems to be the “hornet in humming-bird clothing” we are seeing. Hope the article about the cicada killer on Wikipedia brings some relief.
Me again. I was at Wa Wa on Iron Bridge Rd. in Richmond this morning, sitting in my car with windows down,minding my buisness, & one of these “docile” “non-asian giants” flew in & began attacking me.
I jumped out & shot a video of the little creep buzzing all in the back window, which was not rolled down, trying to escape, sticking his stinger in & out like a tattoo gun. In the video you can CLEARLY see: 1) the size, as i put my pinky up to the window it’s the same size as it, & this is one of the smaller ones I’ve seen. 2) color, bright yellow face with powerful mandibles, no brown, all black & yellow. 3) behavior, it flew in my car window, broad daylight, with the intent to attack. Even in the video, he is clearly pissed off, & highly aggressive, pulsating his stinger in & out, as previously stated. Now, with all this said, you “experts” still want to argue with us here, who are seeing & being stung by these monsters. Ponder this as well.
Have we not in the news, the past few years, been hearing that honey bee’s are disappearing at an alarming rate with no explanation? Guess what, I have your explanation It’s called the ASIAN GIANT HORNET!
The past few nights we had been noticing some very large bees (about. 2-2 1/2 inches long) flying around our porch lights. We have a 2 year old granddaughter who lives with us and we were terrified that they would sting her. We sprayed them with every chemical, cleaner, in the house and it didn’t even kill them.
Finally we stepped on the ones that fell and it finally killed them. We showed them to our friend who raises honeybees and he told us this was a Japanese Hornet. Well tonight they were out there again and they got the hubby on the toe. He said it was the worst pain he’d ever had and felt like he was being stabbed. He has chronic back pain and he said this was worse than his back pain! His toe has swollen double size now. These things are here and I’m in Tennessee.
I got stung by one of these today. Holy crap it hurt. It just walked onto my foot and stung me through my sock when my foot wasn’t moving. If it had stung one of my kids, I would have been devastated. And they have a nest in my back deck. Can anyone take a picture of a nest to help me locate it, and let me know the best way to KILL THEM ALL. They fly at night, so I have no idea how to get rid of them, but I will.
I have lived in Birmingham,AL for 38 years. In all of this time, I have NEVER seen something so big and scary! Usually I will open the door to let wasps or hornets back outside.
Most of the time, we just ignore them.With kids under foot, my mother bear instinct grabbed a swatter and beat it to death. This had venomous written all over it. With horrible heat, drought-like conditions, nearby earthquakes and hurricanes, there’s no telling what kind of Mother Nature’s pests are being driven westward.
It sounds very dramatic but, I am frightened for children playing outdoors.
nice to share our direct experience with global life….these hornets are most likely a mirror of the imbalance we humans have created. almost always my unity with nature is symbiotic…yet, these hornets are teaching us to pay attention to our actions perhaps that require an awareness of rebuilding…not domesticating….in my case…i fed the hummingbirds…they killed them as well. hmmmm
Indeed, they are here. I do know that feeding nature alters their natural adaptation and survival…have fed the hummers 1 1/2 gal of food a day…drought comes…swarms of insects share their harvest…until now….these giant hornets in groves of hundreds have infiltrated and are attacking…got stung 3 times only thus far yet am reigning severe reactions. for those of you, puke on the poison control center for your ignorance, they do exist. we have screwed with nature far too long.
The giant European hornets fly around, lights because they are hunting other bugs!!!
The big hornets you all have thought you have seen are NOT Asian hornets in the U.S….they are cicada killers or more likely European giant hornets which are pretty common but not often seen as they are very shy….they will fly at night and they eat other nasty bugs likes yellow jackets and bald faced hornets….they are actually really docile…..look it up there is.a good video on youtube of a guy hand feeding them
There was one of these giant hornets buzzing around the front porch light last night and at first I just ran past it to get inside, but then thinking about it a few minutes later, I came back out with a can of directional spray Raid and killed it. I took it over by the wing to show a neighbor and now knowing what it was, I’m scared there might be a nest somewhere between our houses. THEY ARE HERE!!!!!!! this is amongst the other VA-ers’ posts.
We have been seeing these Giant Hornets by our back deck. This morning I noticed that they were going into the eave of our home, I guess into the attic. After reading this site, I am leery of my husband going into the attic after dark, to try and locate their nest and spray it. These hornets are at least 2 inches long. They don’t seem to bother us, just fly back and forth to their nest. There will be 4 or 5 of them entering and leaving the house at the same time with what appears to be maybe wood pulp in their mouth. I have noticed them flying around the bug light on our deck at night, so I am not sure the idea that they sleep at night is correct. Any suggestions?
If you don’t think this Hornet will kill you, re think. I say this because at the beginning of summer this year I had a bird nest i put out for the black caped chickadee and I happen to notice one of these hornets buzzing around the front of the nest. I knew that the young birds were due to leave the nest so when I didn’t hear them I took down the nest to discover two little birds in full feather ,dead and their flesh was mush. My story does not stop there. Yesterday I got a phone call from my Uncle that a good friend of mine was dead. His bloated body was found in his house and his flesh was turning to mush. He had complained that a giant yellow jacket had stung him two days before but he thought he was getting over it.
He died of a massive heart attack after having been stung five times on his face by this monster the Giant Hornet. I am at war with this killer and I intend to find and mark any nest I can and return in cold weather with triple clothing, double bee mask and smoker and the only thing that I know of that will get rid of there things,Gasoline. If I have to set the whole woods on fire I am going to kill these monsters that took my good friends life. I will add, my friend was 48 and as healthy as a horse. He was a carpenter by trade and in excellent health. I shutter to think want would happened if this monster stung a child or someone with health problems. These things might be a good counter for the African Honey bee which I believe is the reason they are here. But I will take the honey bee over this sure killer.
I am open for comments on this matter if anyone wishes to write me personally. Just direct your email to dapperdan2 [at] frontiere.com.
If we sit on our hands this time, we are apt to loose the life of anyone who comes in contact with this Killer. Its time to take matters into our own hands and rid our land of this killer.
I live in Richmond Virginia, & my parents live in King William Virginia. One day while visiting my folks, I was standing in their yard, talking to my mother with my arms crossed, when I heard what sounded like a rc airplane in a full on nosedive. I looked up just in time to see a humming bird sized hornet, identical to the picture of the Asian giant hornet, coming straight at me. It stung me on top of my ear & I have NEVER experienced such pain in my life, before, or since. The pain lasted for hours.
I am pierced & tattood all over, none of them hurt. This hurt. I cursed & cried like a little baby right in front of my mother. I am not allergic to bee or wasp stings, yet my entire face swelled up to extremely scary proportions. I have seen European hornets & cicada killers before. Nope, not it. Plus this thing was huge, & quite obviously, extremely aggressive, since I was doing NOTHING. Standing in the yard with my arms crossed. Not messing with a nest, not cutting grass, not doing jack. I have easily seen a dozen since that incident, & NO ONE will convince me they are not here. Yes it gets hot in VA, but NEVER over 100-105 degrees, so try again with the “It gets too hot here” B.S.. They ARE here.
i live in the northeast ga mtns, and this is the 2nd time we’ve had these HUGE bee/hornet things!!!! the first time was about 11 years ago, they made a nest in a tree and we discovered they didn’t like the lights….we had to keep our lights off/curtains closed at night….they would bang against the window and scare the crap out of us…..we just started seeing them around about 3 weeks ago…. they are trying to make a nest in cracks in our siding…..when we had them the first time, we called an exterminator and he said he could spray or we could wait for the weather to cool down and then they would leave on their own…..we waited, and they left…..scary though…..thought they were the Japanese hornet, but after reading extensively have come to the conclusion they are the European variety…..ugly suckers!!!!!!
We just found a dead hornet, I think it’s the Cicada Killer. Very freaky! Anyone who thinks they have seen the Japanese hornet, check out the Cicada Killer species too as that is more likely.
Also Cicada Killers are solitary and don’t make hives which is good news!
I know how to safely kill these. We started seeing these several years ago. They mainly came out at night and would hover around lights in the house. After seeing they were attracted to light, I bought a large bug light from Lowes. I think it cost around $40 or so. I hung this out on my deck at night. They will swarm the light so you don’t want to be near. I kill over 50 the first night. I had to clean the light every morning until they were all gone. Literally I counted over 300 bees that the light killed.
Jeff
Buena Vista, VA
August 18th, 2011
I live in Atlanta Georgia and have been in my home for 35years. Today with doors open from my kitchen I realized some flying insect was inside flying against a large window. Indeed, I found what must be the giant hornet which I will say was a frightening sight. It was at least 2 and 1/2 inches long with a large wing span. I was fearful my dog would attack it and be stung or even if I tried to remove it I too would be stung. Fortunately, a yardman was here. He came in with gloves and a towel and was able to pick him off the window and once I looked at him closely, the yardman released him outside. I hope the hornet was on his way to another area, state, or country as I do not want to come across one again. With little children playing here often, I hate to think what would happen if anyone were stung. thank you for your site. I felt like it had to be a hornet, but had no idea they could be so large.
I live just east of Lancaster county PA, and as one PA counterpart on here (near Erie PA), I have found these large bees with a more orange than yellow striping, only, they live underground. I have a few holes in the yard where they dwell.
I’ve read through these posts and it amazes me how SURE some of you are that we don’t know what we’re seeing here in the south. I’m in Louisiana, about as south as you can get without being in the Gulf of Mex – and I have seen these hornets here for over a decade. Occasionally at first, but now I see a couple every day, zooming around while the thermometer is reading 100+ degrees. I even have one in a jar, and it is exactly what this site is showing in it’s example picture. The one I have is nearly 3″ long. I’ve seen many this size, and a few even bigger. As for being passive, I’m not testing that theory with a hornet the size of a hummingbird. This species IS among us in the States.
We have some very large hornets here in northeast Texas, but this is the first time I have seen one this big try to go into the ground. I know what ground hornets look like but this thing is huge. So does any large hornets make a nest and or burrow in the ground? This one is about 2 in. long. and we caught him coming out of a mound of dirt. Can anyone out there tell me about this hornet? Thank You and have a nice day
I saw one of these damn things for the first time today, huge, yes about 2-2 1/2 inches and very dark, it was flying around my back yard near the house and they move pretty fast. He came at me and I moved away quick, hey I live up here in northern Vermont on the Quebec border, what the heck are these monsters doing way up here ?
I live in Raleigh, North Carolina and I have something I suspect to be a Giant Wasp flying around the front of my house everyday. I have only ever seen one at a time but I know where there is one there must be more. I live close to a woodline and that is probably where it is coming from. I have never stuck around to see it land or get close enough to investigate (it scares me!) but it is at least two inches long and resembles a bee or wasp with black and yellow stripes. There is a European wasp nest on the roof of my neighbors house (I live in a duplex) and it seems to show great interest in the general area I have seen the smaller wasps.
Perhaps it is hunting them? I am not entirely convinced it is the Japanese Giant Wasp, but all I know is that it is big, looks mean, and I have never seen anything like it before. I worked on a blueberry and Christmas tree farm for several years when I was younger and came face to face with all kinds of bees, hornets and wasps, but this guy is new to me and scares me more than any other insect I have ever seen. At first I thought it was a humming bird until it got close enough for me to see it!
I was stung by one of these Japanese Hornets this morning. I went to the ER and they just gave me a prescription for benadryl and Motrin. Is the medical field aware of these things and their adverse reactions? I’m in Richmond VA – will I die?
I’m not sure if what I saw tonight was a Japanese hornet or not. But it scared the hell out of me. I have pretty large hands, and this thing was as long and big around as my pinky finger. It was all black with yellow stripes on the end of it’s abdomen. Its abdomen also looked oddly long for it’s body. My neighbor then informed me he has pulled 5 dead ones out of his pool this week. So those people saying they are just the queens of regular hornets, I don’t think there would be that many in the area of one city lot.
I’m in the mid-Atlantic region, west of the Appalachians, south of Lake Erie. I saw something flying down from a tree the other day & it landed on the ground. Thinking it was a locust or cicada, I went over to investigate & saw what was a very large (at least 2-3/4 inch) hornet. I backed away & it got up & flew. It resembled the picture of this giant hornet but the yellow bands were more orange-yellow. My area has been invested with large numbers of stink bugs from Asia, & now it appears giant hornets also!
I live in Virginia beach an these Japanese giant hornets are very common in fact I encountered one today. I’ve seen them before an I knew they were hornets but never knew what kind they were, so after seeing the one today I researched hornets an there is no question it was the jap giant. I couldn’t find any site saying they lived anywhere other than the “mountains of Japan”, but there in VA just thought I’d share
I came across one of these hornets yesterday in my pool in northern South Carolina. It was floating on top of the water, so my wife took the net and put it under the water to drown it. It was probably under the water for a good 5 minutes but was still alive!!!! It sprayed something into the water that was white looking and I believe, after reading this article, it was the pheromone to call in reinforcements, but none came because it sprayed it into the water. After I lifted the net out to squish it, it immediately flew away, which I thought it wasn’t going to be able to due to its wings being wet. After reading this, I hope that hornet never comes back and that its nest is far away.
I am not sure how so called experts can say that the giant Japanese killer hornet is not here in the states. We have been doing more and more trade with other nations now, and seems to me that they could easily have come here by ship. I saw a ad on a New Jersey web site that says they have been spotted in New Jersey and will soon be spreading to other states.
I had an encounter several years back with a very brightly yellow and red striped hornet that was very furious and intimidating, and large! about 1.5 to 2 inches long. The darn thing kept after me for about a month until I was finally able to spray wasp killer in the eaves of my house where there were numerous wasp nests.
He or she finally left or died. But it sure was brightly colored for a European Hornet which looks more green than yellow or red. I have noticed this year more European Hornets , and they will sting to, especially if they build a nest in or around your house. I live in Southern Illinois, I have postponed work on my house until late fall, hopefully they will be gone by then.
I’m in Richmond, VA and we have a nest in the back yard of these monsters. The first time I saw one was the other night coming home. Our porch light was on and I could barely get into the house as it was guarding the door.
They are very attracted to light and seem aggressive as they crash themselves into our glass doors at night trying to get in when the light is on inside. The body is the size of my thumb. I was terrified when I first encountered one.
Now that I’ve read about their flesh eating bites and stings, I don’t think I want to leave my home. I don’t even know if I call an exterminator if they will know how to get rid of them.
I’m not sure about the species of insect we are experiencing in my backyard in Northwest Indiana, but it is different from any bee, wasp, or hornet I have ever seen. I think it is some type of super hornet. At first, I thought we had an ant problem with small piles of upturned dirt next to our sidewalk and around our planter beds. I now believe that these are the nests belonging to the hornets. They seem to be developing a curiosity about people that are sitting nearby. I would describe them as about two inches long. Only the tip of their abdomen seems to have stripes. There is a definite stinger that is visible at the rear of its abdomen. Their wingspan is long and brown in color. I think it’s time to call the exterminator.
My finish carpenter and I saw one today. It looked like a bass lure flying around. Easily two-inches long. She collided with one 22 years ago and was stung, so she was avoiding the beast while I tried to get a better look. We live in Durham, NC; she was stung in Henderson near the Virginia border.
Have seen these Giant Hornets around here in Maryland since the mid 80’s. We had a huge nest in the root system of a dead tree. Discovered them when trying to remove the tree. My husband poured gas on them. Some got away but did not return to our home area. That was in Queenstown. Now live on Kent Island and have seen them up in the Love Point area right on the bay at my sisters house. On Tuesday the biggest one ever flew in on us in the pool. I would describe it as the size of a hummingbird. No exaggeration!!! I am allergic to bees and my 7 year old grandson has recently started developing allergies to food. It all started after he was stung twice by honey bees. We have an epi pen but, let me tell you…….this Giant is scary. Especially now that I have read several articles about them. For the 1st time in my 50 year life I hope the honey bees rule out and kill this deadly creature.
I live in central Maryland near the bay, and I’ve seen two very large wasps recently. They are about three inches long and and the back/butt area seemed disproportionately large. I’m terrified of bees and wasps so I ran back inside and left through the side door, but if it does turn out these things are in Maryland I’m moving to Alaska.
Ok, so either the Japanese Giant Hornet is actually here in the US now, or some mutant version of the European Giant Hornet just flew into my living room! The thing was 2.5-3 inches long with a 3+ inch wingspan! I cannot begin to describe how enormous this thing was! I am originally from Texas and Florida, so giant bugs and large wasps/hornets are not new to me. This thing was out of a Godzilla movie! I had to wait an hour with all of the windows and doors open before he flew back out. There was no way I was going after that monster with a flyswatter or bug spray – it would have yanked the flyswatter out of my hand and beat me with it! I live in Long Island, NY, so I would not be surprised if the Japanese ones were starting to come in on cargo containers into the NY ports. Super creepy!
I just caught one on my back porch. It is huge and looks like the pictures. I have him in Tupperware until he dies then I will bring him into Apologist to verify that is what it is. I live in Birmingham, AL.
I have Japanese Hornets at my house in northern Georgia I don’t see them as a a bad thing since i don’t see them very often and they only have small numbers. However i do not believe that they have any natural predator in Georgia which is a scary concept. I first noticed them last year when they were attacking a wasp nest. this year i tried to keep an eye out for them and I saw a lot of wasp at the beginning of the spring but once we hit summer i haven’t seen any I think the Japanese hornets have probably killed most of them. I’m fine with a few less wasp but i don’t to be over run by Japanese hornets in a few years.
HOW DID THEY GET HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Yup, these things are in the U.S. we are in West Virginia and for the past couple of years I’ve gotten buzzed by at least one out by the tool shed. These things seem to be looking for something and if you are where they want to be you will get chased. I have been stung and bit on the back of the ear by one and it hurts a ton. I’ve been stung dozens of times by those little ground hornets with hardly any reaction, about the same with wasps, just a bump with them. These things if the sting doesn’t make you move the bite sure will. Big too, at least three maybe four inches long and loud too. The only bug spray that seems to even half way work is a mix of several different concentrates together, and then it takes a couple days exposure to drop them. If you get one inside, all I can say is “shop vac”, any spray just makes them mad. (got to be real good with a shop vac too or you get stung)
HI IT IS NOW LATE SPRING IN NORTHERN OHIO, IF ANYONE HAS BEEN PLANTING FLOWERS OR JUST MESSING AROUND THE LAWN YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED SOME LARGE YELLOW JACKETS FLYING AROUND. THESE ARE THE QUEENS LEFT OVER FROM LAST FALL. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A POTENTIAL NESTING HOME,ONCE THERE SHE WILL START HER NEST. (KILL) HER AND YOU WILL PREVENT A WHOLE LOT OF STINGING BASTA_ _ _, COME LATE SUMMER EARLY FALL. THIS IS TRUE FOR ALMOST ALL HORNETS AND WASPS. AS FOR KILLING THEM AS ONE PERSON WROTE DISC BRAKE CLEANER WORKS BETTER THEN ANYTHING I HAVE TRIED . BUY IT AT THE AUTO PARTS STORE.
I believe all of you who say the Japanese Hornet is in the U.S. I live in the Northeast corner of East Tennessee. We have the hornets on our property. They are huge! My brother-in-law was stung in the face by one, and he now has a scar where the flesh rotted away. They are always at least one to two swarming around the Humming Bird feeder everyday.
When I was a child I use to visit a friend who lived on a farm. They had a large flowering bush next to their barn that always had a nest of these hornets in it.
As I am sitting here now there is one out the door on my deck.
I’ve never seen or heard of one of these hornets until tonight….working in my kitchen (making soap) and i heard this loud thumping on the window…..well i didn’t see anything until about 30 minutes later….there it was crawling on the screen of my back door (which was open, just the screen door was shut) i don’t like bugs to begin with but this thing gave me the chills it was HUGE! bigger than my pinky…..so i got on here and looked it up just put “giant hornet” in the search and voila! this thing has GOT TO BE one of those Japanese hornets, it’s massive! it’s at least 2 inches….i waited for a good moment and got it with the wasp/hornet jet spray but i’m scared to go out on the deck and check it out….if it’s there in the morning i’ll inspect it….and as for people saying their harmless (if it is the European kind – which there’s no way it’s way too big) sell that crap to someone else!
These giant hornets have been in south central VA since the 1970’s, or earlier. When I was growing up in Pittsylvania County, we often had these and the European hornets on the property. Both species liked to eat the fruit on the apple and pear trees. Getting stung by either was not fun. My mom got stung by one of the large ones on the top of her head, and it left a hole the size of a dime. Her hair didn’t grow back for years. We had lived in S. Korea and visited Japan often while there, and we knew what these were. I’m a geologist by degree, a herpetologist by avocation, and an etymologist by curiosity. These giant hornets I clearly remember were definitely NOT the same as the large yellow European hornets. The giant hornets dwarfed the others, and were often 2.5″ or more. The European ones are about an inch.
I haven’t seen these in years until today. I’m now in northern VA, and one flew up to my living room window. It was like a small bird, and my husband clearly saw it as well. He was amazed at the size and now understands the story about my mom’s head that I’ve told over the years.
–Bonnie
no you all are wrong saying that the Japanese hornet is not here in USA.
because i seen some here in pipe creek Texas and my wife killed one and i seen another going under are house and another one wipe out a bee hive we had behind the house.
i tell you the one we killed was as big as the cow killer wasp we have with black body and orange wing. that fly around in the grass looking for tarantula’s and spider to eat. we have just started seeing this hornets you call ;look like giant yellow jackets wasps to me never in my 50 years have i seen wasps that big and i tell you some thing else they probably got thrown over here in a container by some ass that thought it would be nice present for the USA to have some just like the the damn carp and snake fish, tiger, bremise python, and what ever else a perverted mind could think of to send here and destroy us,and are wildlife.so yes your wrong to even think that the Japanese hornet is not here and now there populations are growing and more deaths will occur but that is probably the agenda to begin with with the people who sent them here in the first place.
We started seeing these things about 5 years ago. We had an old half dead tree in our yard with holes in it, that’s where the nest was of the biggest yellow with black striped Hornet I’d ever seen! Over the years, I’ve seen a few giant queens[loners]; But that’d be it. But these were the workers! It apparently was a big nest with so many coming and going, and they did’nt seem aggressive; So we didn’t know what to expect. But as the summer went on; We mowed around them and trimmed around them, only once did one investigate me. They were the BIGGEST thing’s I’d ever seen!,
but dosile…Next year though; A slightly smaller type nested in the same hole; Which was about 4 feet high. They were Giant too! Just not as big as the first one’s. They would not let you near that nest hole! These were sort of light orange, with yellow stripes, and kinda hiary. We tried everything; Mowing at different times. Even mowing at night; But they still came after the lights! The things never did sleep! Every time you came out the door they were there somewhere as if waiting. One cornered me almost; I ran from it, but I knew I could’nt outrun it, so I immediatly turned around to go back in the house when it just missed me! I ended up buying the most powerful bug light zapper I could find. I could only get to within 100 or so feet of it and set it on the ground. SPRAY WILL NOT STOP THESE THINGS!!! The bug zapper took all summer, had to clean it out every evening; But it worked. That year we didn’t mow grass till late fall! I’m 48 yrs old. We always have yellow jackets, black/white stripped hornets; Big and small. Many varieties different wasps, snakes; You name it and I’d say I’ve probably seen it. Our record is 34 yellow jackets in one year nesting in the ground. We live next to the Park line and they’ve turned a lot of new creatures in on us with new one’s coming in all the time. When we were young we spent almost all our time way back in the mountains, camping out most of the time. Never a care in the world. Now they tell us about all the different dangers of bears, cat’s, coyotes, new species of snakes. We live in the country; Now you have to carry a gun with you when you go out in the yard. I guess what I’m getting at is; With all this being brought over here; Why not the strange hornets too?
I live in southeast KY, and like it or not; Something new is in the air I don’t think were really prepared for. Lord Willing, I’ve never been stung by one, and pray I never am. Could this be a genetically altered new stain of hornets we’re dealing with? I do know for a fact of the killer bee problem, and how that happened. This sure would be a weapon alright! My house was about 500ft from that nest and they almost ruled that yard! I believe in being as prepared as possible, and about the only thing you could do is have something ready in case you’re stung. And by all means; Pray! All of the people I’ve talked to have some horrific stories about their skin rotting out where they were stung. If it’s not the Japanese Hornet; It’s got to be it’s 1st cousin!!! Oh yeah; I’ve personally seen them hollowing out a car muffler; literally cutting out the inside of it! Oh yeah; That’s one bad insect!!!!!
In Palm Desert, CA, I had an up close and personal experience with a hornet that was TWO (2) !!!!! inches LONG and 3/4 of an inch WIDE !!!! Don’t give me any crap!!! This was the way it was. It flew in to our courtyard and was flying like a dragonfly: swooping and hovering, until it found a leaf on our tree to sleep under (it was dusk). I motioned with my hand to get out of here. The insect ominously, with its back toward me, made the sudden motion of whirling its head approx 180 degrees to look at me, and in an instant, this hornet was hovering at arms length above my face !!!! It moved across 15 feet faster than I could raise my hand in defense. It hovered above me for, I would guess, 3 seconds before “sparing my life” and exiting the area in a flash. I wouldn’t have had a chance against this creature….. this is no fish story !!! I immediately went to my computer and found out about these monsters.
Really? Seriously?
Come on, people. Stop being so alarmist dumb-dumb American about this. There are no Giant Japanese Hornets in the U.S. There are some sizeable hornets, but nada on the Japanese variety. Sorry if this puts a damper on the drama and the fear-mongering, but it’s a fact.
And no, nobody is going to die from a hornet sting UNLESS they have severe allergies to the particular venom of the wasp/bee that stings them. This is pretty rare, and they are not dying from the sting, but from the allergy. Let’s face it. Someone with a severe peanut allergy can die from eating a few peanuts. OOOHHH!!! SCARY, DANGEROUS PEANUTS!!!! Somebody tell me what to do!!!
Anyway, you get my point. For 99% of us, a hornet sting will hurt like a mother, but we’ll be okay. Even in Japan.
And the bottom line is, hornets are pretty harmless if you leave them alone. They’re a natural part of the environment, so pipe down, people.
HI LIVE HERE IN NORTHERN OHIO, FIRST SAW THE GIANT HORNET ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. IT WAS IN THE GRASS FIGHTING WITH A LOCUST. SINCE THEN HAVE SEEN MANY AROUND HERE. THEY BUZZ AROUND AT NIGHT AS I FOUND OUT ONE DAY IN THE GARAGE. SEEMS TO BE MORE OF THEM EVERY YEAR. LAST SUMMER I MUST HAVE WALKED TO CLOSE TO A NEST BY A PATH-WAY. A FEW SECONDS LATER THE BACK OF MY HEAD FEEL LIKE SOMEONE STUCK ME WITH A RED HOT ICEPICK. THE PAIN LASTED FOR HOURS AND SWELLED UP AS BIG AS A GOLF BALL. ALSO HAD A QUEEN END UP N THE BEDROOM. THE WIFE YELLED SHE THOUGHT A BIG MOTH WAS IN THERE. USED A VACUUM CLEANER TO SUCK IT UP AND AS I GOT CLOSE IT TURNED AS TO STING THE HOSE. ITS STILL IN THE VACUUM. I USE JET SPRAY GUM OUT,IT DROPS EM DEAD.
i live in tenn. and have always seen em flyin round, they never bother ya until they feel threatened, or at least that’s from what i’ve seen. tho my pappaw swatted at one, it stung him, and he has bad arthritis in his hand and it had stung him on his lower forearm, and his arthritis was gone for like a week. which i think they should do studies to see if it’ll help people.
but they are gentle giants as long as you respect them. and i’m terrified of wasps n hornets, but i like these guys. they hornets n wasps are around as much as they use to be since i saw these guys round
To whom it may apply: Before making grand pronouncements about these all being European hornets in the South, or that there are no Japanese hornets in the US, please look up some basic information with search engines and Wikipedia and such about their physical characteristics, especially SIZE. They are all over the eastern and midwestern US.
FACT: European hornet normal worker reaches about 25 mm or just shy of an inch. Queens barely get to 35 mm. So if you see a ONE-inch yellow hornet, it’s one of the several European types.
FACT: European hornets are rarely aggressive unless you do something stupid, like killing one next to a nest, like Entymologist said.
FACT: The Asian and particularly the Japanese variety is the ONLY type that reaches 50 mm or near TWO inches in a regular worker!! So the TWO-INCH monsters reported in the SOUTH particularly are identifiably Japanese. Positively, unequivocally!
FACT: The Japanese hornet is AGGRESSIVE. They KILL about 40 people per year in Japan and about 70 per year worldwide. THAT is the character of the two-inch monsters that those of us who have lived in the SOUTH for extended periods have seen. Whether you have seen them or not is irrelevant. Many, many people have!
IMO, the best friend humans have in the woods infested with these things is the black-bodied, white-faced hornet. They view the big bullies as competitors for food and a danger to their nests, and have been observed arranging “Little Big Horn” type sucker ambushes to draw groups of the Japanese hornets where a large number of white-faced types were sitting on leaves and twigs facing the battle area ready to pounce. They are very organized and almost always cut the Japanese hornets to pieces and take the pieces home for dinner. American hornets are your friends, if you respect them. Japanese hornets are not.
I live on the south east coast of Taiwan and have been stung by an AGH on two occasions. The second time was while I was videoing some local hunters who had come to (A.) take out a nest of them on the grounds of public safety, and (B.) gather the larvae to make a prized local delicacy and the actual hornets to make an ‘energy enhancing’ alcoholic drink. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZRiM0LuQEQ
Kianna
The “Giant” hornet discussed above is not found in the United States. It is the Japanese Giant Hornet.
There are only 2 varieties of hornets found in the United States. The Bald Face Hornet and the European Hornet. The Bald Face is actually a wasp. If you saw one, you would think it was a black and white wasp, not a hornet.
The European Hornet is probably what you’ve found and they are referred to as “The Gentle Giants”. They are not dangerous or aggressive, unless you pose a threat to their nest.
The European Hornet is protected in Europe. Heavy fines go along with destroying their nests. The hornet is not protected in the United States unfortunately.
I have had 3 hornets make their way into my home over the years. The first hornet was as long as my pinky finger and was in the living room with me for at least an hour before I noticed it sitting on my couch. It was quietly trying to crawl away when it saw me coming towards it. The second hornet showed up a week later. It perched itself on the blade of my ceiling fan. Every time my husband came near it with a can of Raid, the hornet would perch itself upwards and stare my husband down. This exchange went on for about an hour. The third hornet found our kitchen last week. My husband went to kill it and it found a way to get out of the kitchen.
If you’ll notice a pattern here; the hornets never attacked and did not mind our presence.
I’m sorry that I ever killed one.
Oh my goodness!! I hate regular bees to begin with. And if found two of those European Hornets underneath my outdoor lights last night. They have to be at least 2″!! I have to put them on a board for a project in school, and now I am somewhat afraid to even touch it even though it is dead!!! And I haven’t seen any nests lately, so I wonder where they are coming from….any ideas to where they might be coming from anybody? We have a cement driveway and a nice wooden porch. Could any of this be causing anything? And can they really be lethal? Because I will gladly kill any of them I see!! 🙁 🙁 Any advice?
I live in Northern Illinois by the way.
I wasn’t bothered to much by these European Hornets until I started spraying wasp and hornet killer around the garage where i was working. They really got aggressive, then when they knew i was outside, whether making noise or not they would attack. They are scary looking. There large around 2 inches long. And they are definitely the European variety.
At first they weren’t to bad, but I couldn’t figure them out. They would chase dragon flies in the yard, but right where I was working. I would move out of the way and let them go not bothering them. It wasn’t until they really got on my nerves by continually flying and chasing dragon flies in my area of work. I would eventually get in there flight path and though they weren’t out to sting me they would have because I was in there way and I almost got stung by getting in there way.
They would come up to me and just hover in front of me not being aggressive. But it made me nervous. I don’t know if they were trying to tell me something or what, like Hey! I live here to, so leave me alone or vise verse’a with me, I was thinking Hey! I live here to, so get the frick out of here. Your cute and your big, but I don’t think this is gonna work. So I sprayed Drion Dust in the cracks and crevices of my structure especially around and in the eaves then sealed all openings I could find with foam spray and so far I haven’t seen or had a hornet attack.
It is September now, they may have all left but there should still be some hanging around, so I think the Drion Dust and sealing the holes helped. If your having problems with Hornets around your House, I would suggest you go around and do a visual inspection, and seal all areas where they can enter, but try some Drion or Delta dust first, then seal the openings. If you have vinyl siding you obviously can’t seal to much or your vinyl siding will buckle, so only seal the corner pieces and use drion or Delta dust on the loose shingles or if sealing use something loose fitting, but nothing flammable like rags, use only safe material. And get a head start, it’s almost winter, now is a good time to start before next spring.
I have noticed that when I used “Raid Ant and Roach” spray it kills them on contact at least it has for me…..they all died about 40 of them and I was able to knock down the hive…I have children that wait for the bus of school in the morning and they were making a home by my front door….Yeah I live in North west Georgia and they are the Hornets from hell!
I also live in Wilmington, NC I saw a scary hornets when I ran my water hose over the nest in the ground, it was a few of them that emerged but they were rather large, and I have not seen these before in my time in Wilmington. No bueno!
I had these hornets in a tree beside my house. I battled them when i would go out to feed my dog in the morning before the sun came up. Spray worked a little, then I tried a powder called Delta Dust. It worked, I blew it into the tree twice, No more hornets. You can also use poisoned red meat, it will slowly kill the nest. You can get Delta Dust at pestmall.com
Have had two of these giant (size of my thumb) bee/hornet things in the house tonight. I can’t find where they are coming from – but the “bug” guy was here today and sprayed outside and perhaps disturbed them. My cats who normally are enthusiastic bug chases are scared of these things. My neighbor (6′ tall) came over twice and chased the darn things down, whacked the heck out of them and flushed them for me. I’m not ashamed to say I’m scared to go to bed! I fear I’ll have a house full when I wake!
Found one of the euro hornets crawling up the outside of my kitchen window at 3 am after a party last weekend. Really bright and awesome colors. It must’ve gotten drunk too because it kept climbing and climbing up the window and wouldn’t respond to me getting real close to take a pic and videos of it. Well today I was moving stuff of the deck to pressure wash it. I found the same kind of wasp, dead, half eaten, right under the window…. Here is one pic and I have a video taken from inside the house of me putting my hand up to it to show how big it is. I’m 6’6″ so i have pretty big hands. I’d guess it to be about 2 to 2.25 inches long. Also got stung by a mud dauber mowing my grass before the aforementioned party. stung me right in the Achilles tendon. couldn’t walk for a few hours.
Recently, I saw one, dead, at a gas station, a big hole where the stinger should be.
I’ve been reading all these comments because I was shooting photos today of butterflies on a pear tree that has overripe fruit on it. There are many bees and wasps and butterflies all eating the juice of these now fermenting pears. I believe I accidentally stepped on one of the large yellow hornets and it was fluttering its wings against the upper part of my foot. I moved my foot and it crawled across the grass. I decided to take a couple of photos of it since it was apparently unable to fly. I will send them to you by email, so that you can post. I know this is an old post but thought you might want to update it.
I had heard of an Yellow Asian Wasp so looked it up. it apparently is not yet in the U.S.
I believe that what all of these readers were encountering are European hornets. They are very common in Georgia, where I live and throughout the US. They are quite large but are not nearly as large as Asian hornets. Of all the hornets, they are the least aggressive.
European hornets are often confused with bald hornets but bald hornets are darker in color. I’ve encountered these hornets before and have always simply ignored them and I have not been stung. European hornets have been in this country since the 1840’s.
The photo that I have is definitely a European hornet but it is very similar in color and shape with the Asian one…but not as large, not as dangerous and not as aggressive.
I live in Wilmington North Carolina. I killed and caught one of these scary hornets today. It was in my garage. I did not know how dangerous it was until I googled it. That’s Scary.
For about three weeks off and on, a large (about two joints on my finger) size bright red (with some black underneath) and fuzzy bodied hornet would be sitting on the barn floor when I went to the barn. The wings were a purplish black and it seemed to irate it’s wings like those little bluish colored wasps can do. It also seemed to have some yellow around it’s eyes and it would just sit there looking at me. I would leave and it would still be sitting on the dirt floor.
I have lived here over 30 years and have never seen anything like this one.
I live in northern Alabama and I am almost positive I have the Giant Asian Hornet here. I am working on pictures of the hornets I have encountered at my home. They look Identical to the ones I have seen online. They are the largest hornet I’ve ever seen. Over 1″ long.
All of the hornet’s pictured with the exception of the first which came from wikipedia, are not asian giant hornet’s. They are in fact European Hornets which are quite harmless and dosile. The difference is that Asian Giant Hornet’s are orange and black, while European Hornet’s are red yellow and black.
I have noticed hornets around my garage this summer. They haven’t been aggressive, yet. But I don’t trust them. There Big. I’ve been spraying wasp and hornet killer all over my garage, it has helped to keep them away. I also bang around the structures with a stick before I start working, that way I can usually tell if something is gonna attack me before I get started. I’ll tell you, when your doing construction work them bees, wasps and hornets can be a problem. I live in Southern Illinois and 10 years ago I never saw a Hornet, never in Southern Illinois. there here now. Anyhow, there are foreign species from other countries that are in the US, wasp species that is. I was talking to a construction worker and he was doing a job at Walt Disney World in Florida once, and a bunch of African wasps that are considered deadly had gotten into a tree trunk or something they were working on and they were told that these wasps were from Africa and they were deadly. They had called in an expert, anyhow the wasps were never caught, they got away. So if deadly African wasps can get here, I am sure Hornets can to. Where do you look for Hornet nests if you can’t find them.
Every now and then I see a bee, that is as thick and
as long as my pinky, it is black with a distinct
yellow stripe on the stinger area, the wings
appear to have a reddish color, however I only
see these bees traveling alone! And they seem
to be always in flight, what are they I live in southern NYS
For those of you who want to kill a hive
I done it many of times.
Here are the best ways to do it!
Bees don’t work at Night and prefer not to fly
either. You can use hornet killer remember it’s not fast acting
but will kill them after some time.
usually a few hours.
2nd if you happen to be around the time of year
when the nights are cool and the temp is dropping
below 40* they can’t fly it’s a good time to
get them.
I have killed them in the day also I once killed a hive
of hornets that had at least 100’s off bees,
the hive was disturbed by a horseback
rider that wonders off the trail and stepped
on the nest, triggering the horse a girl to get
stung multiple times! She was thrown and the
horse was missing for a hour or so.
The area had a large population of riders,
when I got there there where swarms of bees
that where in aggressive mode!
I roped of the trail.
Stood back 20 feet and gave it to them!
Saturating the whole. 2 cans where used and
when I left they where very active,
the next day there where just a few flying bees
left.
Utzman42 [at] yahoo.com
I am pretty sure that if you have been stung by a Vespula Mandarinia aka Japanese Giant Hornet you would have no flesh left where it stung you in about an inch in Diameter due to its toxins. It literally will dissolve all soft tissue around the sting area.
hello number 8# im in north carolina too and i have the same problem just last night i saw one in my house ( late at night i went to my bathroom and saw one i ran out slamming the door behind me then i grabbed hornet spray that i just bought i had to spray half the can before it finally couldn’t fly then had to squish it with my boot and after all that ITS LEGS WERE STILL MOVING) so today i went outside to check out a so called bee nest…. i chickened out but im almost sure its probably more of those little guys my advice get an exterminator and afterwards cut down as many trees as you can afford to
Funny, I noted the same thing. I was on my patio after work relaxing in the sun and thought a bird flew past my face. Here it was a giant hornet. It didn’t stop long enough for me to get a good look but it’s coloration when flying looked an awful lot like the description of the cicada killer. This thing covered about 30 to 40 yards in like 3 seconds and I could see it the entire time. Not going to lie, I was scared 😉 This is in South Central PA.
Hi, everybody!
I was stung on a Thursday by a large hornet-looking creature that flew out from a nest on the bottom of my mailbox. (Wouldn’t have disturbed them if I had known they were there!) Luckily, it was only a partial sting, as I knocked him off of me very quickly! The sting, which was on my thumb, bled a little and started to swell almost immediately.
I got some Nelson’s Sting Gel on it and slid my thumb ring off within minutes of the sting. Another minute and the ring probably wouldn’t have come off! I also wrapped a soft ice pack around it. The gel took away much of the burning pain, but the swelling continued.
An hour or so later, I began to have symptoms of systemic poisoning: upset stomach; hot, achy head, and confusion. This persisted all evening and into the next day, feeling more like a toxic exposure than any sort of allergic reaction. Rest and an ice pack to the thumb and to the forehead helped. The second day, I found that I also had loud ringing in my ears. I pushed fluids and ate well (fluids to wash out toxins that the kidneys process, and high-fiber foods to help wash out the toxins that the liver processes, since I didn’t know which organs would be doing most of the work). Homeopathic Apis Mellifica taken orally seems to have helped somewhat, in addition to continuing to use the sting gel (You can get them both at most health food stores.) I also tried soaking the thumb (10 minutes or so as hot as I could stand it) in Epsom salt solution, which took away the itch for a few hours at a time.
The itching gradually went away, with the sting gel and ice pack being the most helpful overall (and portable as well). A week later, I finally was not having a return of itch and ache. I think I identified the culprit as a European hornet.
I hope this helps those of you who have been unfortunate enough to have been stung. Of course, if a sting ever results in difficulty breathing or swelling of the face, seek immediate emergency medical care!
I live in a rural part of Rhode Island and these are a menace in our neighborhood, both the large hornets (cicada killers) and red hornets (around 1.5inches long). The only way we have found to completely remove the nest is to heat the ground above the nest. Bee’s (along with most insects) are extremely intolerable of temperature change. by raising the soil temp from a cool air temp to 110+ degrees you can safely kill all bees and larvae.
Speaking of safety, I’m not suggesting you start dousing your front lawn with gasoline. Clear away all debris around the nest at sundown. Buy a bag of match start coals, light a 1 foot diameter pile over the nest and try to cover with something similar to a steel tire rim.
Fill a shop vac 1/4 with rubbing alcohol then suck the bees in we drilled a 1 inch hole in my wall then shoved the hose in have someone standing by with raid for any scavengers.
Can someone help me I am worried about my 2yr old grandchild! These large horrible looking hornets have taken up at my daughters, I SWEAR THEY BURROW THOUGH CEMENT, CONCRETE! Turning it into sand, big piles of it where the went through concrete stairs to make their home! They closed the concrete stair nest and now they are back right under the first wood stair, where it meets the concrete, leading into the house. Please help, my granddaughter is a tiny 2yr old and I am really worried if one stung her if she would survive??? This is in Albany NY. I hope someone can help, I have never seen anything like these creepy huge hornets!
Last year I found a dead bee in my driveway, it was huge.
Last evening I was watering my flowers on my open porch, where I get hummingbirds coming to feed. At first I thought it was a hummingbird, then I quickly realized it was the most giant bee I ever saw and I guess it was threatened by the water, so I just sprayed it and the darn thing just kept on coming towards me, so I go myself inside. Very aggressive. It was the size of a very fat hummingbird, or like you rolled up 6 or more bumblebees.
I live in central New York and I seem to have a lot more bees and wasps this year, including mud wasps, which I have not had before.
Don’t really know what it was, but it was huge and aggressive, and did not like being sprayed full force with the garden hose.
Interesting comments left, spent a lot of time reading and thought I would leave my location, as it seems they are moving north..yikes!
Today, July 5th 2010 in Cartersville, Georgia I found a nest of these giant hornets located in the wall of a barn. Their nest hidden inside the exterior and interior wall. They come and go from the a space between exterior boards. This is a shredded area of this barn too. I was searching for a hand tool hanging on the wall there. Upon discovery of the nest, I left the area and not likely to return until cold weather or I find a economical way to kill the critters. These are very large hornets. I’d rather be in a pit of rattle snakes.
These horrible creatures have been coming to my back deck for the last 3 years. Think they may have a next under the deck. I am horrified of them. They are about 2 1/2 to 3 inches long and one came up carrying a locust last year!!! My brother managed to kill 2 of them last year by waiting for it to land on the deck and then throwing a window screen over it and then beating it with a hammer!!! Was sitting outside minding my own business yesterday and one of the hornets came up. I put a pail of vinegar, water, sugar and detergent out this morning in hopes that it will get into it and drown.
Hey, I can take a photo of a squashed wasp and her nest. I’ll be looking for others because this happened mid day and I know that wasp don’t home until around dusk. Sting me once, I can deal. There won’t be a second time.
An ammonia and baking soda paste is the way to go. Unless you have a great grandpa that chewed tobacco. He had bee hives and hornets and wasps that lived all over his farm. If we got stung, he’d spit his chew on our stings and we were cured. Gross but it worked!
I wish I would have taken a photo of this thing. Grew up in Texas and know paper wasp and hornets. Been in Ga. for 20 yrs. I’ve been seeing these things flying around but not concerned. I went to my tool shed and as I opened looking for widows or recluse spiders, I felt something drop on my head and as I was swatting , my husband yelled “wasp”! It hit me on my right hand finger ring. After a 15 minute rampage of doom on that red wasp (hornet)and the nest, Had to to go with with the old fashion paste of ammonia and baking soda paste to draw the poison out and an Ice pack to slow the flow. Took some benadyl ,too. My husband wanted me to go have my ring cut off but I knew that some of those old country family remedies work. And 8 or so hours later, yes it still kind of hurts but the swelling is subsiding and I didn’t have to have my ring cut off!
i live in Northwest Ga. there are two i see right off my back patio in my back yard. they are hovering at the base of a tree…This is also right next to my sons swing set and his trampoline….I don’t know what to do.
Oh, and if anyone is questioning how these “asian giant hornets” got here on the east coast, just think about all the shipping done between the US and China. It’d be very easy for those things to hitch a ride across the ocean. Ross Perot may have been onto something….lead paint toys for our kids, poisonous drywall, loss of American jobs, and now giant hornets. Thanks, Walmart.
The giant hornets are here in VIRGINIA. I’ve been looking on many websites trying to identify this horrid thing and all the pictures of the giant hornet (asian) look just like what I’ve had in my house. So far this spring (2010), I’ve had 4 of them in my house. The first I found dead in my shoe (glad I looked before putting my foot in there). The other 3 I had to kill, flying around my windows.
These hornets are yellow and black with black dots on the abdomen. The body length is 1.50″ with a 2.5″ wing span. The stinger is 1/4″ long. They have real long legs that curl up when you poison them. Someone said they sound like model airplanes when flying. That’s a pretty good description. They’re quite loud.
I’ve found a great way to kill these things. I’m an automotive mechanic and I have plenty of “brake parts cleaner” around. You can get this at any auto parts store. Get the good stuff…the flammable kind. It kills these hornets INSTANTLY. The best part, is the stuff fully evaporates leaving no mess to clean up. It doesn’t take much to kill them either. Just be sure to ventilate the room since it’s probably not good for people to breathe in either.
If I keep finding these, I’m gonna have to call an exterminator to find out where the nest is. I’ve checked all around the house but haven’t seen any indications of where it might be hiding. These hornets look really dangerous.
My policy is, “If it flies, it dies”!!!
#52 makes worthwhile points on You Tube the Schmidt Sting Pain Index is in many videos and yes it DOES completely ignore the giant cicada killer wasp; the tarantula hawk or Pepsis Formosa; the red/black cow or mule killer; the Japanese giant hornet; the Australian red bulldog ant (40MM) AND the awful pus caterpillar. The idea presented that a red harvester ant sting is as bad as a red wasp sting is truly worthy of ridicule. Red wasps (polistes Carolina) are the commonest severe sting species.
No, they are not on a par with a Tarantula Hawk nor with a red/black velvet ant (cow killer) as far as the cicada killer, I’ve seen reports the pain can persist up to one week; other reports insist the sting is mild. The contradiction is resolved by understanding that the mild stings were taken AFTER the wasp injected its prey species and the venom sac was NOT replenished. If I had to take a sting from a T hawk or a cicada killer, I’d take my chances with the killer.
I live in Atlanta Ga. It is March and very chilly tonight. I was reading in my living room when I heard aloud bee sound above me. I looked up and could not believe what I saw. I am highly allergic and fought a tough battle last year. Who ever is saying Japanese Hornets are not in the US have not seen this thing. It is identical to those pictured on line.
I am scared of this event. I will take a picture of it and post as soon as I can. My husband cut it in 3 pieces. Was it a scout? Are there more? It few from upstairs to the light ,hit the wall and flew into kitchen. There my husband killed it.
I do landscaping in Oklahoma and was stung by a Pepsis wasp (tarantula hawk) one morning. I’ve been stung by lots of red wasp and bald hornets, as I work outdoors, but this thing hurt like nothing I’d ever experienced.
It inspired me to research the stings of wasps and such, and I noted with some interest that the Scmidt pain scale ignored the Asian hornet. I know that the hornet’s sting can be lethal, but I can’t imagine it being any more painful than that Pepsis wasp, unless there is a correlation between lethality and pain, which I cannot surmise a scientific explanation for. Anyway, there is a video on youtube where the cameraman gets stung by a JApanese giant hornet and is hopitalized. He says the pain is “very big”.
As far as these folks sighting of the Japanese hornet in the states, I’m convinced they are mistaken. The US has some plenty big hornets, and they look similar to those Asian monsters, but when a person describes the pain like a nail or describes swelling like a golf ball, it just doesn’t seem to be on par with even the Pepsis wasp, which felt exactly like someone was holding a cigarette lighter up to my leg for a long time, and further reinfoces my suspicion that they were stung by a cicada killer or a large US hornet. I’ve taken stings by both of those many times, and while they do hurt, they aren’t incapacitating. My boss won’t even give me the afternoon off for a hornet sting, but I went to the ER for that Pepsis wasp, so powerful was the pain.
There’s my story…sorry for blathering so long.
WOW all of these stories are very interesting. I myself have come across those Huge Yellow Jacket Looking Hornets. Thank The Lord above the ones i saw were already dead. No nest sightings for me yet, and hopefully there wont be any!!!!
Anyways i was sitting here reading all these post and i see a lot of people asking How to kill these hornets that have their nest in the ground. Well wouldnt BOILING HOT WATER do the trick? I thought maybe it would work since that killer Giant Asian Hornet can only handle 113 degrees. I know people do this for Red Ant piles but i just thought that it MIGHT do the trick instead of spending lots of money on chemicals or professionals if you don’t really need to.
Just a thought. If anyone has tried it or Does happen to try it First i want to say BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!! I HAVE NEVER TRIED THIS so i DO NOT know IF IT WILL WORK OR NOT. I am not telling anyone to do this because it will work because i do not know this to be a fact. It was just an idea. BUT IF anyone does try it and it does prove to be a successful killing method please email me and let me know. I would LOVE TO KNOW!!! jadeania8 [at] yahoo.com (THANKS!!)
PLEASE stay safe everyone and God Bless you all!!!
I live in France and these mamooth hornets have landed here a couple of years ago, brought by a ship from China. They seem to enjoy our place and have started to invade my country at a 25km/year pace.
The only remedy we have found is to shot gun the nests in the trees to help the birds get a lunch.
We live in the UK and within a nature conservation and wooded area.We see them mainly individuals but sometimes half a dozen or so in a group. They are attracted to outside lighting, so we avoid using them. We kill about a dozen individuals every year (carefully) as they make their way into the kitchen attracted by light. They are noisy but their droning can be heard a few yards away giving me time to arm myself with a tenneis racket of rolled up newspaper. I am careful not to get noticed by then as they have been known to attack.
As they can use their stinger again and again, these hornets can make you sick if you are allergic to stings! Its always a good idea to get a bee sting injection if you are allergic.
Go on Youtube and look at the posting of the giant european hornets in the nest with the queen. The giant hornets of course are big, but the queen is HUGE!.
Hi
Can you tell me if the Asian Giant Hornet has come to the UK – i saw what i can only describe as a giant wasp earlier today when it flew into my kitchen. It scared the life out of me as i have never seen anything soo big and se evil looking. Having looked at pictures on the internet it looked exactly like the sparrow bee you show on your site. Please let me know if they have now come to the uk as i feel i should warn my neighours who have small children that daily play in the garden. Thanks
I live in SE Pennsylvania and no doubt, the American giant hornet or whatever you want to call it is here too. I have had two very scary encounters with these things (doesn’t count the many times I just see them, which is scary enough).
One time was a small nest inside of an old trash can, and the thing was definitely mad, but I ran away and it could have chased me, and it didn’t. (God, I get chills just thinking about it.) The other time was just yesterday, when a low hanging branch form a Lilac tree brushed my head as I was walking by, and the hornet was right there. It was actually on my head for a second, and then fell off into the grass.
The thing was so big that it had trouble crawling back up the grass to fly away. The grass simply could not support its weight. I am sending pics of the one I zapped tonite with 50% iso alcohol and water solution, just to stun it before I flushed it away. Sorry, I have let them go free before, but I have a little girl and the thought of her getting stung by one of these horrifies me.
But make no mistake, is alcohol and water DOES NOT KILL these things. They’ll fly at you, and you have to keep dousing it. When it finally does succumb, it totally draws up it legs and you might think, for sure, it’s dead. So last summer I put a “dead” one in a drawer outside because I wanted others to see how freaking big these are. Sure enough, I was “safety checking” it about 6 hours later, and it was coming to!! He was moving around and waking up. After six hours of, I dunno, I guess intoxication! I hope that the iso alcohol, which smells so strong, masks the pheromone they give off when I spray them.
I don’t go looking for them – I only spray them when they get into my screen porch. I have to check tomorrow to make sure there isn’t a visible nest up in the eaves. If there is, I’m calling a pro.
People in USA locations are confusing giant cicada killers with Japanese hornets. I don’t know about comparing 1 on 1 the stings, but I can assure the cicada killer is way underrated as to pain potential. So called “researchers” have taken stings AFTER its venom was unloaded into its prey. Venom glands take some time to replenish. In any case, the cicada killer is less aggressive than the common and very painful red wasp. I doubt that any Japanese hornet is close to equal in flying ability of the cicada killer as I have seen them carrying huge paralyzed loads in flight and could not singe one of these wasps with a very large torch & spray did not stop one when it stopped everything else.
Cicada killers are terrifying in appearance but far less likely to sting than any hornet species. Cicada killers, tarantula hawks and Japanese hornets are the world’s 3 largest wasps with the Japanese type easily the most dangerous but only because it’s liklier to be aggressive towards humans AND it is a social wasp with others who back it up. Common red wasps are more aggressive than lone hornets and probably more painful. I have seen burned out red wasp nests taken from deer blinds that had over 400 wasp cells.
O my gosh the hornets.. was seeing one or two at night. as soon as the porch light was put on. Got stung. holy cripes it hurt. Today I noticed at least 100 flying around my pine trees. 20 ft from my house. I don’t know what to do. I live in northeast Ohio..they even try to come under my screen door at night..
We too have been seeing these giant hornets????. The come out at night. At first we only saw 1 or 2. Tonight our cat was sitting in the window watching somthing. It was dark outside. There was about 20 of these giant creatures. I turned out the light & they disappeared until I turned the light back on. I tried to get some pics through the window but only got my reflection. Should we be afraid of these creatures?
We live in PA.
i have been noticing LARGE hornets recently on my patio. they are yellow and black and look like yellowjackets on steroids. i don’t have a pic. when i see one i run inside( i have been stung by them before, its like being hit with a baseball bat). the largest one i have seen is no exaggeration, probably 3 inches long. we also have these hateful red wasps that are building somewhere. i am in western kentucky. i don’t know whether to look for an underground nest, a nest in a tree trunk or a nest in the branches of a tree, but i sure do want to get rid of these monsters! i have seen hornets before but not this large~
When I lived in Japan I got hit head on in the face by one of these while riding my bike up Shimogawa river in Kyoto. I saw the hornets from hell before I went there and it scared the crap out of me so I booked it as hard as I could. I saw several of them while I lived there… scary critters. If you get stung just once you can survive alright, but the poison never leaves your bloodstream so if you get stung again you’ll die. I have a friend living over there now who was stung when he was a child and always steers clear of them for that reason.
Keep your distance everybody!
Could you please let me know if the Giant Asian Hornet has multiple stings as my friend saw an insect that was the same size and colouring as the Giant Asian Hornet but had 3 stingers that when ‘flicked’sounded like they were made of bone(it was dead after being stood on)He also said that the two shorter stingers were about 5-6mm and the longest about 9-10mm.He said when flying towards you it had a very loud drone quite high pitched but unmissable.I would be grateful if you could let us know if,on the information we have given you you think it may be the Giant Asian Hornet.
Me again. The Southern Illinois Guy. I got a wasps after me now. Ha! Ha! I know, funny! Trying to get work done at my place is not easy with these flying stingers around. Actually finding the nests can be a bit difficult. I am currently spraying in the cooler mornings. Don’t know where this nest is at, but i figure the spray will eventually get them, or me. It’s also getting cooler now, so maybe these little son’s of a pests will chill out.
I myself have noticed more wasps and the larger type of bee that stings flying around where I live more than ever. There never use to be wasps and hornets of this magnitude in Southern Illinois. I mean if your out in the forest area, there everywhere. You can stand still and just see them flying. The larger bees are getting more abundant. Could be due to so called global warming. I have found standing still can be effective with the less aggressive wasps, but for the bigger predators, like Hornets, it don’t work to well.
Folks I live in north central Pennsylvania, and I am a contractor both building and excavating, I often encounter hornets and wasps, We have a species that is very large here know as a fruit wasp , rarely seen, that actually harvest and cut up dropped apples, peaches and the like they are about 2.5″ to 3″ in length and will generally arrive in numbers to “clean up” a site.
I know of no one who has found any nests or has been stung, but they appear to have all the equipment to complete an attack or “defense”.
Their mandibles are impressive and saw through fruit with great speed and helicopter off with the load in tow.
We have all the rest giant hornets, bald face and yellow jackets, and the new European paper wasp, (available by the thousands here since 1993, but sissy’s even if pestered), and all react similarly to agitation, I generally will fight at night or when a cool evening is available, good hornet spray soaking the nest is very effective as well a go old gasoline and a rock over the hole. If they are in a dwelling or structure an aluminum screen trap is easy and devastating as they all need to feed and drink regularly, shut them down without a chemical bath and in a week they are done.
They all rely on movement, and color, the darker the more obvious, we have encountered them and have stopped moving and or layed down and they cannot find us. Works if your not already stung, they are a creature that if you know their habits and flaws you generally will be the victor.
I live in Southern Illinois, and I have seen Giant Hornets and encountered one of them. I don’t know if they are Asian or not, but they are here. I encountered it while working on my house. I don’t know why it was hanging around or that there were others, but it sure gave me the Willy’s. I had just got done finishing my roof and left one side open under the overhangs, with the roofing hanging over the eaves. It stayed that way for a couple of years. Then one day I was outside and this loud humming noise I kept hearing, and it was loud. I thought it was a carpenter bee. I have those to. But it was coming at me in attack mode. I couldn’t see it. I tried for days to spot it, all I could see was a large yellow orange thing coming after me. It would fly all around me up and down my back and buzz like crazy. I finally figured out it had to be a hornet. It didn’t sting, but I am sure it would have. Man it gave me the Willy’s for sure. I come to the conclusion it must have a nest under the eaves where I didn’t put fascia on. I I went into the attic and sprayed wasp killer through the eaves from inside. I heard all kinds of humming noises. But it came to be wasps nests, no Hornet nests. The Hornet came after me again one day, but never returned after that. It may have died. Don’t know. I put fascia on the eaves. To this day I still cringe at the thought of a Hornet coming after me.
I took a few pictures today of the hornets that stung me on Sunday. They are definitely nesting in the wall of my shed and there were many more today than there was on Sunday. After carefully checking the pictures I took with some on the web, I’m still not positive if it is an European Hornet or the Giant Asian Hornet. On one site it looks like the European, on another it looks like the Asian. Either way the intensity of the sting was amazingly strong and stayed that way for over 10 hours. I still have a big not and swelling on my ankle. Anyway, I’ll send the Pictures to you and check back later for feedback.
I am reading a number of American replies that appear to believe they have encountered the Japanese Giant Hornet species on the mainland. I sincerely doubt that has occurred. These hornets are very much only found in Asia. They do NOT burrow into the ground, they actually have rounded beehive like nests which usually are planted under roofs against the wall. Mostly in corners. Even moreso this species is very commonly found in the mountains of Honshu (the Japanese main island). Their sting is deadly even to people who are not allergic depending on the amount of Neurotoxin released.
However in spite of how deadly they would seem, they apparenly very rarely attack humans. Considering the very large and densely populated country that they seem to be most common in, Japan… they only manage to kill about 40 people per year there. I am certain the stings are far more common but they do not seem to be a major cause for alarm to the average citizen and it is likely we have more deaths from bee stings in the US where the citizens are allergic.
For those of you in the southernmost states, one of our heatwaves would kill them for sure… they cannot handle temperatures over 113 degrees farenheit. Our constant heatwaves in places like Texas where I am from would never allow such creatures to exist. In fact one of the main problems in Japan is that these hornets are actually a cuisine for some and one good reason the 40 or so deaths seem to occur each year is possibly due to cultivating them for food.
So don’t worry guys, I am planning to move there though so… I get to worry. *sigh* I certainly hope my home never gets infested with these. I am very afraid of simple American wasps.
Also forgot to say that this mourning my son saw a regular bumblebee dying on the front porch and that one of those large hornet looking things was very near. Now I’m even more worried. I live in central Iowa where did these come from?
Upon doing yard work, I have noticed several of what appear to be very large hornets in my yard. I watched to see where they were coming from and noticed they were flying out large dirt piles they made under and beside my patio cement slab in the back yard. My children are afraid to go outside! I have to figure out how to get rid of them. Help please!
I was stung by two a few hours ago. Was not sure what type of insect it was but was pretty sure it was some type of hornet. I’ve been looking all over for pictures to see exactly what kind it was. The Giant Hornet pictures I’ve looked at are the only thing close to what I saw. Was stung on the back of one ankle and on left shoulder blade, and still hurts as bad as it did when I was stung over two hours ago. Both sights have swollen up pretty good and baking soda hasn’t helped a bit. I’m in South Central Indiana and the hornets were at the bottom of my shed by the door. Looked like they were nesting inside the wall. I know for sure they weren’t yellow jackets or bees.
hey i have a hive of thes jap hornets and they get on my window every night tell i cant see out the window anymoor they are in my boy’s room how do i get rid of the please help me
my house has 2 bee hives in the front of my house what should i do please help me i have 6 childern
I’ll tell ya, I’ve seen a few giant hornets here in Virginia as well. This summer , I’ve noticed a huge hornet in the back yard , I haven’t figured out where it’s livin yet but it doesn’t look like the japanese hornet. I grew up here and i’ve seen this type of hornet many times. It’s got a redish body with a black tail with 3 single yellow stripes on it. As a kid i saw one flying with a locust in it’s grasp and stinging it as it flew! I caught one and killed it and sure enuff , the stinger looked like pencil lead.
One thing that works (when the store bought products have failed) for killing wasps hornets etc is brake cleaner, get it at your local auto parts store.
Sooner than expected or wanted—-I killed another giant hornet this morning 7/3o/09. I’ve never seen this large hornet before.
Why within days two have been killed? Should we expect an
invasion of these critters? Joe P. Baton Rouge
My step-son killed this giant hornet July 26 -2009 at home in Baton Rouge, La. We didn’t know what it was–but seeing your description on i-net–it matched the one that was killed here.
I will soon tell our neighbors to be on the look-out for them.
I was bitten by (i think) hornets 3 weeks ago. I was cutting grass and was suddenly attacked. I hurts badly. I was sick for 3 or 4 days and still have a huge painful red spots on my back and head.
I thought they had come out of the ground and assumed they were yellow jackets but they were big and black. I finally got the courage to go and see were they were coming from. They are in an old wooden bird house I have nailed to a tree. They are big and have yellow heads and stripes on their tailes.
I’m want to take a picture of them because I am still in pain and do not know what they are. WHAT SHOULD I DO? HOW DO I GET RID OF THEM? ARE THERE MORE?
I live outside of Montgomery, Alabama on 20 acres. I am afraid to walk and especially to mow grass.
PLEASE HELP.
I moved to north central GA 2 years ago. Last year, mid- summer, these giant European wasps started invading my deck at night. I watched them from indoors and left them alone until the evening last August that I stepped on one barefoot. The thing wrapped it’s legs tight around my toe and stung 3 or 4 times before I was able to scrape it off. The pain was unbelievable. Within minutes my entire leg was swollen with shooting agony from toe to waist. A friend drove me to the nearest ER . They’ve begun returning this last week. I snare them with the shop vac and leave them in the tank to die.
edit on my above post, the hornets are killed by fumes not flames. Don’t set a field on fire. California burns without your help.
I live in California and the most exciting things we have are ground hornets or yellow jackets. You’ll be rolling around on the tractor with the iPod on minding your own business then these morons appear and start harassing you. That’s when you realize you just rolled over one of their nests. You mark it with a rock and GTFO then come back at night with a can of the ACE Hardware foaming killer and a wine bottle of gasoline. You empty the can of foam into the hole and cram the bottle in after really quick. The gas lets the foam flow through the nest and when the survivors try evacuating, they get caught in the bottle and killed by the flames.
The paper wasps are ever more fun. Wait till night and show up with one of those small propane torches and roast the nests. Just don’t catch your house on fire.
If you have a lazy Sunday to kill, throw a cut up watermelon out in the backyard and post up in a lawn chair with a beer and a Red Rider. They come and don’t even notice you blowing away their friends.
I’ve been studying animals for many years and I am fascinated with finding new animals. I have discovered that, as stated before, these asian hornets are just that, Asian. The “yellow jackets on steroids,” are what is know as a “Giant Hornet”;Vespa crabro
I have looked on the internet for the hornet my husband and I saw about nine years ago and haven’t found it. I swear this is true. I noticed a hole in the ground about the size of a quarter. There was dirt piled around it and thought it was fire ants. I looked out the window a little later and noticed dirt flying out of the hole and thought it must be a tarantula. When my husband arrived home that evening I told him about it. We both investigated together and about that time a hornet’s head about the size of a marble popped out. It’s “shoulders” were a twice as big. Needless to say we ran for the door. Later my husband chopped up the hole with a shovel. He said it sounded like a model airplane when it flew.The hornet was yellow with brown markings. We thought we had gone through a time warp to Jurassic park. Does anyone have any idea what we saw? We live in central Oklahoma.
ew they are nasty!
Instead of insect spray, use spray adhesive. You can find it at most arts & crafts stores and works immediately, BUT if you are close to the nest you can trigger the defense and then you have problems. If you can find the nest first it’s best to stand far away with a jet stream on your hose and knock it out from a considerable distance. The water doesn’t carry your pheromone and therefore the hornets don’t have anything to retaliate against. One at a time though, the spray adhesive sticks to the wings and they ca no longer fly.
I’ve seen these large hornets in central New Hampshire. Very similar to
the Japanese hornets from the NGC video “Hornets From Hell”. I caught 2 in my cellar (and still have the specimens.) I heard them before I saw them. They weren’t aggressive. I’ve seen another couple out doors always hearing them first. They’re definitely hornets and not the cicada killers. (I saw cicada killers when I was a child on Cape Cod in the 60’s. They built burrows in the sandy soil and had VERY thin waists.) The big hornets in NH had terra cotta colored eyes with brown & yellow stripes. I haven’t seen any since I saw these few in the late 1990’s. They must be relatively rare here as I’ve found only one other person who has seen them. Never saw a nest- nor do I need to.
We have a lot of these here in Georgia and call them European hornets. Some started to make a home in our walls by our room and we had the externimator come out. He put on his complete body bee gear and stated that this was the only bug he did this with and that even with his gear the stinger could still penetrate his suit. Needless to say, we watched him work from inside the house through the window. These insects look like yellow jackets on steroids. When my son cut open a dead one, he discovered a stinger that was about 1/4 inch long. Bug sprays have a very slow effect on them, but they do eventually die from them, however, it seems to demand a lot of spray for little results. They are rightly named the hornet from hell.
that last photo i’ve seen one near wher i live at the beginning of summer
i’d like to know what it is too so i can be prepared
My family and I moved to Japan in June. This morning the kids and I saw something interesting yet scary. I was surfing online when I came across articles about the giant japanese hornet and it scared me. The picture you have posted with your article doesn’t look like the insect we came across. Please advise as to what type it is. Thank you.
Best wishes,
gloria B.
interestingly, eating the larvae of hornets is considered one of costliest delicasy of the Nagas of nagaland in north eastern india.
i live here in the untied states and i have been attcked by one of these killer bees just last night.. today i google search this insect and submitted pictures of my sting to the national geographic website. it stung me in my middle finger on my right hand. my finger itself was the size of a golf ball. and my hand has been swelled since then. im only 13 years old and my principal saw my hand today here at school and she was extremely shocked and told me to report to the nurse and she said to go to the doctor. i did and they reported this bee as the one responsible for my sting. EVERYBODY BEWARE!!!
I don’t like wasps and bees, I’m pretty allergic to them. (not enough for an epi-pen… >o )
Never going to china.
Even spiderman can be killed by these demon-like creatures.
I here a lot of things, I have been stung while driving to work and i can tell you it was like a nail being driven in my shoulder. Identified as a Japanese hornet by matching the hornets from hell pictures and from people at work saying ” Yes that’s a Japanese hornet”. Why are they here in North Carolina? Why in front of my house. I saw one at walmart in an island between parking spaces under a maple tree that was 3″ long. I saw him sitting still at the opening of the hole in the ground he came out of.I have a photo of the one that stung me, and I captured him and gave him a bath in some brake cleaner at work, which killed him after i blasted him for 3 seconds.”Get you a can” cheap, evaporates fast, and comes with a long tube. I am trying to find out how to bait them, trap them and dispose of them myself. Any help? My three year old tries to get them despite me telling him to walk away don’t run . He says,”it’s ok! daddy i’m spiderman”
Unless you live in Asia, you have nothing to worry about because that’s the only area where the Asian giant hornet is found. FWIW, I lived in Japan for two years and never saw one.
Cicada killers are non-aggressive toward humans and stings are uncommon; they pretty much ignore us as they go about their business.
I live in Iowa and every summer in my home town… there are (i think called) killer bee locust… they are huge and look like what you have here except are a locust just somethin u might look into
Mia from #4.
The article above states that a single hornet of that proportion can kill a human. 1 hornet = fatal for 1 human.
Something that size is just wrong, IMO… lovely.. but WRONG. LOL
That is so scary. I have a question does one of those hornets kill a human or does a swarm kill them???
Christian,
If you are finding “burrows”, you probably have cicada killers, not hornets. The males are harmless, though they do like to fly closely by anything near their new homes — no worries, they don’t have stingers. The females have stingers, and can be quite nasty if they bother to mess with you, but it is rare that they do. Cicada killers are more orange/black than yellow/black and live in what looks like large ant hills in your yard. As kids, we used to pour water down their holes, and swat ’em with tennis racquets when they got airborne. Knock over their piles, and soak the holes with a hose to keep ’em from coming back. You can also plug the holes with sticks and dirt, tamping it down with a shovel, and they won’t come back.
Hornets, on the other hand, are nest-builders, and they usually attach their homes to a structure that offers some protection. While large and ominous looking, they really don’t pose much of a threat to humans. That being said, you should in NO CIRCUMSTANCE kill a hornet near its nest. Their pheromones can signal other nearby hornets to go into attack mode, which, obviously, spells trouble for the attacker. If you have a hornets nest, you are best off calling a professional to have it removed. Once the nest is gone, future generations generally don’t return.
Holy cow! I have several burrows around borth porches and want to know what kills them too! I hear wasp spray is useless but something has to give! I have 2 toddlers that need to be able to play in their yard! So, please is there a home made poison that can kill these humming bird size hornets!!
i have them all over the front of my house. I have found the hive in the ground by my front door. How can i kill them. we cant go out thefront door during the day. there mustbe 50 of them there at 9:00 this morning flying all around all the shrubs and bushes. i have kids and dont know how to kill them. i sprayed them with hornet spray and it didnt faze them.