Killer hornets vs honey bees: who will win whom?

There is an opinion that hornets against bees are waging a real war of extermination. A lot of videos “walking” on the Internet, and even professionally shot scientific and educational short films clearly show how one hornet against hundreds of bees manages not only to survive, but also to destroy numerous rivals.

However, only to a viewer far from entomology, it may seem that the hornets are carrying out a peculiar and specifically directed genocide against bees. In fact, everything is much more banal.

It's no secret that hornets are killers of almost any insect. Although it is not entirely correct to label these large wasps as a "killer" in its well-known sense, because they are just simple hunters who get meat to feed their larvae.

For the constant growth and normal functioning of the colony, working individuals are forced to continuously find new prey, kill it and bring it to the nest. These insects are simply programmed by nature for such behavior.And it doesn’t matter if a caterpillar, a bee or even a small frog falls under the powerful jaws of a hornet - a clever hunter will do everything possible to ensure that the prey benefits his family.

On a note

By and large, the hornet is a killer to exactly the same extent as this formidable word can be called, for example, an ant. Everyone knows that every ant constantly brings small caterpillars, beetle larvae and other insects into its home, but no one calls it a killer. Perhaps this is because the hunting of the ant is still not as spectacular and accessible to the observer as, for example, the fight between the praying mantis and the hornet.

A bee hive for a hornet is an almost ideal food object. Firstly, near their nest, these honey insects gather in large numbers, so they are easy to catch. Secondly, they are the most valuable source of nutrients for predator larvae. And, finally, thirdly, the ruin of the hive makes it possible to feast on honey, and this is especially pleasant for large wasps, because. their adults feed mainly on sweet foods.

Thus, the presence of at least one hive in the habitat of winged predators really provides the entire colony with a complete balanced diet, and without much difficulty. Not surprisingly, hornets kill bees often and in large numbers, although they do not specialize only in hunting them.

 

Hornets and bees: hunters and prey

The bumblebee, hornet, bee and wasp are representatives of a large order of hymenoptera, which also includes ants and riders. All of them are united by a similarity in appearance and some features of behavior.

However, hornets, wasps, bees and bumblebees are, in addition, the owners of a poisonous sting.

It is interesting

Some rather primitive tropical ants are also equipped with a sting, and their bite is much more painful than that of an ordinary bee.

The toxins of all poisonous insects of this order are generally quite similar in composition. However, the poison of each particular species has a number of features that determine its effect on the body of the stung.

So, for example, hornet venom is highly allergenic, it affects the nerve receptors of the enemy more strongly than others. But at the same time, bee venom causes more severe poisoning of the body due to the large amount of toxin injected at a time.

As already noted, different types of insects are poisonous in different ways. For example, an ordinary hornet stings, of course, it hurts, but its bites are rarely accompanied by serious consequences. But the huge Asian hornet is one of the most dangerous insects on Earth.

In the video, you can see in detail how the hornet kills bees - it uses its powerful jaws for this, and not poison at all, as it might seem to an uninformed viewer.

In the hunting of hornets for bees, one can notice a certain pattern - in most cases, predators do not attack single victims that collect nectar. They act more cunningly - they track them down and fix the location of the nest, in order to then return here in greater numbers.

Depending on the type of winged predators, a different number of attackers is required to completely destroy the hive of honey-bearing prey. This rule applies almost always, however, there are some nuances here.

So, for example, if we are talking about European hornets, then theoretically only a few hundred predatory insects can destroy a hive of 10-15 thousand individuals.However, very rare families of hornets reach such sizes by the end of summer, and therefore in our country these predators prefer to attack solitary bees without risking attacking the hives. But even in such cases, the damage to apiaries is quite tangible.

A completely different matter is the giant Asian killer hornets, which are almost twice as large as their European relatives. Without special methods of protection, bees are absolutely helpless against hornets of this species. Let's take a closer look at these formidable, but no less interesting predators.

 

Giant hornets and their bee hunting

One of the determining factors in the superiority of the giant Asian hornet over smaller relatives is its size. The body length of this largest wasp is more than 5 cm; almost three times more than the same parameters of a worker bee. With one controlled movement of the jaws, a huge attacking predator easily breaks the articulation of the head and chest of its prey, after which it becomes paralyzed and can no longer move.

In a minute, such a hornet is capable of killing more than 30 bees, and a detachment of only 30-40 predators needs only a few hours to destroy a multi-thousand honey family.

It is interesting

The chitinous cover of the hornet's body is so hard that the bees, defending themselves, can pierce it with a sting only in some places. But even in this case, the attacking insect will not suffer much.

The video usually shows clearly how huge hornets act against bees defending their hive: predators practically do not use a sting.

 

Attack of several hornets on a beehive

And since the bee family is such a “tidbit” for hornets, the latter are very willing to look for hives and destroy entire families.

Interestingly, the war of bees against hornets is a process launched by man. Without its influence, such active extermination does not happen in nature.

 

Bees as a defender: their capabilities and secret weapons

In nature, the species of the Giant Asian Hornet and the European honey bee do not intersect with each other: the first lives in Japan and Southeast Asia, the second in Europe and the Middle East.

But Asian bees fight hornets with a very original method developed in the course of joint evolution: a large number of potential victims stick around a predator, forming around it a huge - up to 30 cm in diameter - ball of their bodies. At the same time, insects actively move their wings.

This behavior is explained by the fact that from such muscular work the air inside the ball heats up, and the heat from the movement of the wings is directed to its center, i.e. to the attacking insect. For a giant predator, a temperature of 46-47 ° C is fatal, therefore, after an hour of being in such a ball, it dies, destroying only a few owners of the nest. The bees themselves are able to normally tolerate temperatures up to 50 ° C, and those of them that did not fall under the jaws of a dying giant wasp survive.

It is interesting

It takes about 500 bees to organize one ball and destroy one hornet. A family of 15-20 thousand working individuals is able to withstand the attack of 30-35 hornets, which reliably protects them from these natural enemies.

If we talk about European bees living in the latitudes of our country, it is worth noting that they do not know how to defend themselves in this way.In the wild, local hornets practically do not attack honey beehives, and therefore European bees have not developed such an evolutionary defensive behavior.

But these insects collect a much larger amount of honey, which is why Japanese beekeepers bring and actively try to breed them in the habitats of giant hornets.

As mentioned above, the war of bees against hornets is an artificial phenomenon, provoked entirely by man. Therefore, the attempts of Asian beekeepers rarely end in success - when huge predators find a hive that is not able to defend itself, a real massacre begins. Without the forced relocation of bees to the other side of the mainland, this would not have happened.

By the way, that is why most of the videos with hornet attacks on bees are filmed in artificial evidence. European bees are not able to breed in the natural conditions of Asia, because predatory giant wasps can attack them only in the apiary.

 

Hornets vs bumblebees: who is stronger when they meet?

The relationship of giant wasps with other insects is similar to their relationship with bees: almost any arthropod that is inferior to this predator in size and strength is its potential victim. Let's define the most striking opponents of the hornets.

Hornet and bumblebee are obvious hunter and prey.

The bumblebee is just as defenseless against this predatory insect as the bee, only more effort is needed to kill it. However, it is worth noting that the European hornet is unlikely to attack a bumblebee because of its small size, but the Asian one is quite capable of it.

Thus, if the sizes of the rivals are approximately equal, it is impossible to say unequivocally who is stronger - a bumblebee or a hornet. There is a high probability that when meeting a bumblebee against a hornet, it will stand.

It is also reckless to say that these insects are enemies. In most cases, they are still neighbors who simply have to endure each other. The bumblebee differs from the hornet in greater peacefulness, and also in that it is not a predator. However, he is able to give a worthy rebuff to the attacker.

Collisions of these insects in wildlife are almost never recorded, and therefore the video “hornet versus bumblebee” is a rarity. Here is one of the few examples:

 

Hornet deals with a bumblebee

• Hornet and wasp - in general, a similar pair of "predator-prey".
• Attacks on the hornet's nest of wasps are extremely rare, since wasps are exactly the same predators, and, having gathered in large numbers, they are able to successfully resist the attackers.
• The praying mantis against the hornet, unlike the two previous rivals, is practically helpless.
• Powerful paws - the only weapon of the praying mantis against aggressors - are not capable of harming a large wasp. The hornet does not even use poison against such a victim, because to win it is enough for him to gnaw through the joint in the neck of an insect.

The video shows how the hornet kills the praying mantis:

 

Giant Asian hornet vs mantis

 

To whom the hornet will yield in battle

By analogy with the previous connections of hornets, one can single out those who are more likely to be an aggressor in relation to this insect.

Apart from all others are the relationship of winged predators with spiders.

Interestingly, a spider against a hornet can look like both a victim and a killer at the same time.So, for example, medium-sized spiders that hunt without creating a web - small tarantulas, horses, haymakers - often fall into the jaws of a hornet and die. But if the insect itself gets into the web, even if not very large and non-poisonous for humans, the cross-spider, then most likely it will be eaten.

The video shows how quickly a spider could deal with a hornet in its web:

 

Spider vs hornet

A hornet versus a tarantula spider has an average chance of winning. These rivals have approximately the same body size, but the spider's body, among other things, is equipped with the strongest poison and very powerful chelicerae. Therefore, in this skirmish, the one who bites first will win.

The hornet's closest relatives, large road wasps and roaming ants, can also be formidable rivals.

Despite their physiological fitness for killing, the hornets themselves often become their victims. This is explained by the fact that wasps have a very powerful poison that is detrimental to the hornet, and ants simply take in quantity - they always attack in a group.

One of the most original biological enemies of hornets is a unique fungus that develops in the brain of an insect.

The spores of this fungus enter the hornet's body through the mouth or respiratory tract and germinate in its head. The mushroom picker, during its development, releases special substances that cause the insect to feel constant thirst.

Willy-nilly, driven by instinct, the hornet is looking for a place suitable for drinking, and here the developing killer mushroom causes paralysis in the insect. The victim freezes in a completely unexpected position - for example, hanging on a blade of grass.

At the last stage of its life cycle, the parasite releases the fruiting body, thereby spreading new spores already in a moist environment favorable for this process. Thus, a predatory insect, by its death, gives life to another, albeit such an ambiguous living organism. Entomologists often find wasps and hornets with dried mushroom bodies sticking out of their heads.

Hornets also have enemies among vertebrates.

Bee-eaters - birds that specialize in feeding on bees and wasps - catch the hornet so that it cannot sting them. After they break the insect on a stone and, without harming their health, swallow it.

In a similar way, some other insectivorous birds can also feed on hornets. But of the mammals, only a person who has learned without much difficulty to destroy not only individual wasps, but also their nests is definitely dangerous for this insect.

However, most often hornets die not from the "hand" of opponents worthy of strength, but from small parasites - ticks, nematodes and riders that they cannot destroy.

Summing up, it is impossible not to mention a well-known scientific fact: in wildlife there is nothing useless. The life cycle of every organism is subject to strict laws; Each organism in nature occupies its own niche and can serve as a predator or prey to one degree or another.

So it is with the hornet: there are objects that it eats, acting as a formidable killer, and there are those that exterminate it, not paying any attention to the full power of the biological weapons of this insect.

 

Interesting video: bees together kill a hornet

 

Hornet vs Scorpion