I would run if I saw this...

[deli_conker]

...screaming like a little girl, that is. Don't fool Mother Nature, she might send these guys after you.

30 vs. 30,000. Amazing.

It's a little old, but I hadn't heard of it until today.
Video
Article

 

[Melody]

*gasp*

Thats amazing.... the sound effects are awful... well, great... but they humanize it too much... (women screaming) it kept me rivited to my seat...

 

[JHawk]

That was amazing. 8O

 

[krap101]

thats so sad i felt really bad for the smaller bees

 

[zacdl]

I cant see the video, for some reason WMP has not been playing much of anything.

 

[Guest]

That was amazing! Mother Nature is a cruel mistress.

I wonder how those hornets would do against a colony of Africanized honey bees (known as Killer Bees)? My wild guess is the hornets would still win, but more hornets would be killed.

I also found this to be very interesting, quoted from the article:

"Adult hornets feed their young by chewing the flesh of their victims into a gooey paste that the offspring devour. The larvae are well fed, and in turn provide the adults with a powerful energy-boosting cocktail in their saliva.

It's called vespa amino acid mixture, or VAAM. Regular doses of VAAM from the larvae give giant hornets their incredible stamina and energy—when pursuing prey, they can travel a range of 60 miles (96 kilometers) at speeds reaching 25 miles per hour.

The incredible effects of VAAM have not gone unnoticed in Japan: The country's latest sports drink is based on this "hornet power." It contains a synthetic form of components in the hornet larval saliva, which is touted as performance-boosting. Japanese gold medalist and world-record marathon runner Naoko Takahashi declared that VAAM gave her an edge in the Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia."

This VAAM sounds pretty interesting, worthy of scientific study.

 

[deli_conker]

Yeah, the sound effects were a little much, but they were very well placed. The honey bees were imported and have no natural defense against them.

Could you imagine being the bee keeper who came across this a couple of hours later?

 

[deli_conker]

I wonder how those hornets would do against a colony of Africanized honey bees (known as Killer Bees)? My wild guess is the hornets would still win, but more hornets would be killed.

Those hornets would tear the killer bees up just as much. I read somewhere (can't vouche for accuracy) that the reason killer bees are called that is because they are more aggressive and their sting contains a pheromone that 'tells' the others where/what to sting. Almost like tagging a missile target with a laser. That wouldn't improve the bees chances at all.

I'm in awe of the numbers though...
1000:1

 

[krazymom]

Wow, that is pretty spectacular! So sad though.

 

[Guest]

Those hornets would tear the killer bees up just as much. I read somewhere (can't vouche for accuracy) that the reason killer bees are called that is because they are more aggressive and their sting contains a pheromone that 'tells' the others where/what to sting. Almost like tagging a missile target with a laser. That wouldn't improve the bees chances at all.

Makes sense to me. I knew the killer bees were more aggro, but thought their sting was more powerful also. If their sting is equal to a regular honey bee, you're right, the results would be the same.

I just hope that no one is ever stupid enough to export those hornets Anywhere! 8O
My earlier comment about studying the hornet's VAAM substance, do the studies in Japan!

 

[Meredith]

OMG!!!! I couldn't even watch the whole video. Its too scary!

 

[deli_conker]

OMG!!!! I couldn't even watch the whole video. Its too scary!

they don't really show you why they attcked unless you see the whole thing though.

 

[Toirtis]

I just hope that no one is ever stupid enough to export those hornets Anywhere! 8O

...but they taste good deep-fried!

 

[krazymom]

Eeewww, but I bet they have a nice crunch!

 

[ReefRaff]

glad there, there, and not here. if they were I would have to move to alaska

Me alergic. and I remember when the recruter turned me down because of my alergic reaction, he was telling me about hornets or wasps, that get that size. and he told me they would just do me in if i ever got stung, so I was not allowed in.

 

[Menagerie]

Hmmm, why would an insect ever need to evolve such caustic venom?

 

[Toirtis]

Hmmm, why would an insect ever need to evolve such caustic venom?

Excellent question...there are a number of snakes and insects that have venom that is several more times potent than could ever be necessary...I know a couple of chaps who are actually doing some research on the subject.

 

[ace1uno_00]

Wow. Thanks for sharing that Video it was great.

 

[fishyrican]

I'm a skeptic, so I had to do a little bit of research before I could believe that. I found these two sites with more interesting information.

http://www.vespa-crabro.de/manda.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet

 

[Toirtis]

What is scary is how well those guys would do in... oh say, Northern California. 8O