Avoiding Japanese Hornets

I was asked how to avoid coming into contact with the largest hornet in the world, Vespa mandarinia, otherwise known as the Japanese or Asian hornet. These gigantic beauties measure about 2 inches long for their bodies and have a 3 inch wingspan. Their stings can be very painful, sometimes requiring hospitalization! As with most hornets, one should be careful not to approach their nests, which typically would be found high up in trees or sometimes in the eaves of a house. Since these big wasps prey upon other Hymenoptera species, you might want to stay away from beeyards and other places wasps or bees congregate. The Vespa mandarinia are much more interested in their prey than they are in you, so if you do see one (in a garden, for instance), remember to just back slowly away. Screaming, waving one's arms about wildly, or other sudden movements may alarm the wasp and make it think you are threatening it. Even if a wasp lands on you, your best policy is to move slowly, hold still, and wait for it to figure out you are not tasty. Unfortunately, habitat loss is encouraging the wasps to forage in human environments. Since the yellow-jacket type wasps are attracted to human garbage (sweet leftover soda in cans, bits of meat from sandwiches, and the like), more Asian hornets have begun hunting in suburbia. If you wish to avoid contact with them, be sure not to linger near trash cans or leave your picnic goods untended. I hope that was helpful! Let me know if you have any more questions about Vespa mandarinia, and I'll do my best to find the answers.

Oh, and just in case you find these beasties threatening and horrible, realize that some humans do prize them for their performance-enhancing "juice". This is an enzyme produced by the larvae to encourage their parents to feed them! Some folks use it as a sports drink or weight loss aid!

In the meantime, here are the websites I researched for this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet
http://www.vespa-crabro.de/vespa-mandarinia.htm
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article582267.ece
http://www.ehow.com/video_4755679_where-do-japanese-hornets-build.html
http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/giant_wasp_enzymes_enhance_endurance

Bee Update

The hive we have been feeding is alive and well! When we checked on the girls about a week ago, they were swarming with vitality. New young bees were everywhere! They were bringing back pollen and presumably nectar, probably from the maple trees. The pollen is a very creamy color, almost white. Although we did a lot in the hive, the girls remained relatively calm. Beekeepers the world over have talked and sung to their girls while working the hive, and I am no exception. I kept up a friendly patter, even though my husband thinks it's unneccessary and unscientific. I was just so delighted to greet them! A healthy laying pattern was observed in the brood box, and our queen looked robust. We swapped the hive bodies, putting the brood on the bottom. Soon we will be looking for the right window of opportunity to attempt raising another queen and creating a new hive. Feeding during the roughest part of late winter/early spring appears to be a Very Good Idea.

Lost Hive

I keep bees, and am sad to report that one hive didn't make it through the winter. They didn't have enough honey put by to keep them alive. It's sad to bear witness to their last moments, frozen in time. The poor girls are deep in the cells, trying to scrape out the last bits of honey so that they will have enough energy to keep themselves warm. Bees are a hive organism, and no individual honeybee can survive long on its own. They need each other. And, it appears, they sometimes need beekeepers. Our other hive is also struggling, but my beekeeping partner has rigged up a temporary feeding station inside an unused box. We set up two feeders of sugar water, and the bees are certainly using them. We also ordered pollen packets and queen rearing supplies so that we can attempt to strengthen this remaining hive and perhaps breed more queens and hives off of it.

Insect List October 30

Here's a list of all the buggies I saw today..

Honeybees, of course. They were out and about cleaning off the leftover honey from the frames we left out for them.

A really cool, huge wheel bug.

Some question mark butterflies and a wasp and a bluebottle fly, also cleaning up the honey.

A grasshopper that looked quite lost on our driveway in the middle of the woods.

The wild honeybees (a swarm that escaped us and took up residence in a hollow tree along the driveway) certainly seemed busy and happy.