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Hornet stings are more painful to humans than typical wasp stings because hornet venom contains a large amount (5%) of acetylcholine. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Individual hornets can sting repeatedly. Unlike honey bees , hornets do not die after stinging because their stingers are very finely barbed (only visible under high magnification) and can easily be ...
European hornets have been observed to steal prey from spiders, which can be classified as an example of kleptoparasitism. This behavior was first documented in 2011 against a yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia. A European hornet flew into the spider’s web and appeared entangled.
The hornets can devastate a colony of honey bees, especially if it is the introduced western honey bee. A single hornet can kill as many as 40 bees per minute due to its large mandibles, which can quickly strike and decapitate prey. [91] The honey bees' stings are ineffective because the hornets are five times their size and heavily armored.
Hornets are a type of wasp, but not all wasps are hornets. These flying insects live in many climates. Their closest relative is the yellow jacket. They look so similar; they are easy to confuse.
The yellow-legged hornet looks a lot like several native insects, including the cicada killer wasp, the bald-faced hornet, paper wasps, queen yellowjackets, wood wasps and robber flies.
It is the only known predator of the Asian hornet. [16] It spends large amounts of time on the forest floor excavating wasp nests. It is equipped with long toes and claws adapted to raking and digging, and scale-like feathering on its head, thought to be a defence against the stings of its prey. [17]
Stings are usually located at the rear of the animal. Animals with stings include bees, wasps (including hornets), some ants like fire ants, and scorpions, [2] [3] as well as a single beetle species (Onychocerus albitarsis) that can deliver a venomous sting from its antennae, whose terminal segments have evolved to resemble a scorpion's tail. [4]
Aposematism is the advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. [1] This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or smell, sharp spines