Southern giant hornet
The southern giant hornet is one of the biggest hornets in the world. Only its cousin, the Asian giant hornet, is bigger. It lives in forests in southern Asia and builds its nest under the ground.
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Fun facts
The queen can be up to 4,6 cm long, about as long as your little finger.
It attacks bee nests in groups and can destroy a whole bee family.
Some honey bees in Asia protect their home by dabbing little spots of animal poo around the door. The hornets then spend much less time trying to get in.
That was the first time scientists saw honey bees using a tool.
A few of these hornets have been found far from home, in Canada and in Spain.
Most asked questions about Southern giant hornet
?How big is the southern giant hornet?
Workers are about 2,6 to 3,5 cm long, and queens up to 4,6 cm.
?What does the southern giant hornet eat?
It hunts bees, wasps, other insects and even small geckos.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Vespa soror
- Group
- Wasps and hornets
- Family
- Vespidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Vespidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Vespa soror (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Rushen. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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