Compared to this monster, the common wasp, which comes to your croissant with jam on a summer day, is a sweetheart. This Asian #reuzenhoornaar is four to five times the size of the common wasp and a sting often leads tosubcutaneous hemorrhages.Multiple stitches can even be fatal.

Last autumn, specimens were spotted in the US and Canada, which probably ended up there by cargo ship or plane from Asia. As the queens wake up from hibernation in the spring and build nests, scientists are now desperate to destroy the insects.

The Asian giant hornet eats other insects, such as honey bees. With her jaws, she decapitates them and feeds her offspring with the bee larvae. In Japan, honey bees have learned to deal with this; in the event of an attack, they pounce the intruder to cook her to death with their body heat. Bees in other parts of the world do not yet know this trick and are therefore in danger if the Asian giant hornet manages to settle there.

Fortunately, the 'murder hornet', as the American media have called the insect, has not yet been seen in the Netherlands. The smaller, ordinary Asian hornet has been noticed several times in recent years.
Source: De Volkskrant

Giant hornet awakens from hibernation