Comments on: Terrifying Japanese Giant Hornets

By: Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 25 May 2010 02:27:44 +0000

No doubt, these guys are scary. I live in Nerima-ku of Tokyo, a ward well-known for its greenery, parks and hence potential hornet nests.

One particularly scary experience – my son and I had a game of badminton and were heading to the local library. Heard this weird buzzing coming towards me (yes, these guys buzz loudly) and here was a giant hornet making a zig zag line, straight for my 4 yr old son who happened to be wearing a black t-shirt.

Paternal instincts – put myself between them and swung my racket out at the beast. One thing about this wasp. It is fast AND it moves rapidly in 3 dimensions i.e. it is almost impossible to predict its next flight path. Its compound eyes see my motion from every angle. Call it pure luck, but hit it with a the racket and it went down, probably dazed. I had good, thick sport shoes on and jumped on it … a very meaty and satisfying sound.

Moved back a few seconds later and the damn thing was still moving. Ended it misery with a stone.

I’m an animal lover, have 2 dogs and 2 cats, never kill spiders and swat only mosquitoes. Anyways, this was pretty much the scariest incident and my hands were shaking 30 mins after the ordeal.

One thing, these guys forage on their own until they find a big source of food. I am pretty sure there weren’t anymore of them around or I’d be toast. Be scared of these guys…very VERY scared.

By: Is your home safe from GIANT JAPANESE HORNETS? | Japan Probe

Is your home safe from GIANT JAPANESE HORNETS? | Japan Probe — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:07:53 +0000

[...] year has passed since I posted about an alarming NTV news segment about GIANT KILLER HORNETS, and that can only mean one thing: it’s killer hornet season once [...]

By: willie

willie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:48:13 +0000

i just moved into a house in houston texas and i have a hive of giant hornets in the ground by my front door. i am scared for my kids. i went home at 9:00 am this morning and there must have been 50 or more swarming around the shrubs in the front of the house. how do i get rid of them?

By: Djiirrimi

Djiirrimi — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:14:35 +0000

I was stung 3 yrs ago, & I was paralised down the left side.
3 yrs on & I still have a strong pins-n-needles sensation down the left side.
Is there a cure or anti-venom.

By: Steve from Ohio

Steve from Ohio — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:29:44 +0000

Getting one sting from a wasp or honeybee doesn’t do anything but hurt a little to me.
But once I got three stings on one arm from those little yellowjackets and my arm swelled up to 30% larger than normal.
I can see how getting a few dozen stings from those giant ones could kill a grown man.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:54:23 +0000

Totally wrong!

It’s a completely reflex reaction. Main incsect brain is in its head, but thorax and abdomen have farily independent ganglions and senzors.

By: Gojira

Gojira — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:09:29 +0000

I’ve been attacked by a wasp nest (got stung in 3 different places) and it hurt like hell. I don’t even want to know what one giant hornet would be like.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:32:34 +0000

i’ve been stung by a regular hornet and that was bad enough. it was immensely painful, stinging me first on the leg, then as i hit it with my hand to move it, it stung my hand too. My leg swelled up huge.
So a giant hornet? They’re terrifying.

By: wes

wes — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:35:10 +0000

to me it looked like the guy squeazed the piece to make the stinger come out

By: Izzile

Izzile — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:07:34 +0000

I’ve seen their distant relative, the bald-faced hornet of North America, when I was up in a tree collecting leaf samples. Those suckers are huge, and I hear that their stings hurt like hell. A co-worker of mine showed me one of their nests, which was about 3 feet long. Anyways, I think these asian giant hornets are supposed to be much worse. If I ever ran into these, I’d be running and screaming halfway across the world.

By: shazzb0t

shazzb0t — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 14:29:47 +0000

I have heard of these before, but I figured they would have habits in the mountains.. They are in Tokyo? Kowaii…