Northern Giant Hornet

Are Northern Giant Hornets a Threat?

Northern giant hornets probably do not pose a serious human health risk. They will vigorously protect their nests if disturbed, inflicting a painful sting. While their venom actually has a lower acute toxicity than that of honey bees, each sting can administer large doses of venom due to the size of the wasp. The potent venom causes pain and swelling (Main 2020). Despite the toxicity and volume of a northern giant hornet sting, human deaths caused by this species seldom exceed a dozen each year in countries where it is native.

All Vespa species are predators of numerous insects. Northern giant hornets prey on many species, including caterpillars, chafer beetles, praying mantises, honey bees and other social Hymenoptera. During late summer and autumn, northern giant hornets begin to prey on honey bee hives, including cooperative attacks that can destroy a hive’s defenses in under two hours. The northern giant hornet is a natural enemy of Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), which has developed numerous defensive behaviors during their coevolu-tionary history. European honey bees (Apis mellifera) lack effective defensive behaviors for northern giant hornets, and the hornets may be a major source of colony loss. The potential impact on commercial honey bee production is among the primary reasons the appearance of northern giant hornet in North America has caused such concern.

Lookalike Wasp Species

Several wasp species that occur in the United States may be mistaken for the northern giant hornet. These lookalikes include the western and eastern cicada killers (Sphecius grandis and S. speciousus) and others. Comparisons between the northern giant hornet and these lookalikes can be found on the North Carolina State Extension website. To date, the only verified finds of the northern giant hornet have been in British Columbia and Washington State (see map) and it is unlikely that you will find this invasive hornet in other states in the United States. Therefore, citizens should refrain from killing large wasps because they believe them to be northern giant hornets, and instead call your local university Extension office or local agricultural commissioner’s office to report a suspected find. Take a picture to help with the identification.

Despite its painful sting and pestiferous attacks on honey bees, northern giant hornets have characteristics that are distinctly useful to people. Northern giant hornets probably play an impor-tant role in the ecology of regions where they are endemic and are even considered a conservation priority species in Korea where deforestation has caused habitat loss. Northern giant hornet larvae and prepupae are considered a delicacy by people that coexist with the hornet within its natural range. And the northern giant hornet is a source of Vespa amino acid mixture (VAAM); a mixture that may enhance athletic performance (Sasai et al. 2011, Tsuchita et al. 1997, Abe et al. 1995).