Giant Hornets Invade France
Posted on February 21, 2007
The Telegraph reports that global warming has allowed a vicious giant asian hornet called Vespa velutina to spread rapidly in France. The hornets are a huge threat to honey bees. The hornets can reach 1.8-inches in length and have a wingspan of 3-inches.
"Their spread across French territory has been like lightning," said Jean Haxaire, the entomologist who originally identified the new arrival.The article says just a few of the hornets can "can destroy a nest of 30,000 bees in just a couple of hours." It also says that France now has to import honey. 25,000 tons of honey are now imported into France each year. Global warming is already making many changes to ecosystems and the economy in Europe. The hornets are expected to eventually make it to Britain.He said he had recently seen 85 nests in the 40-odd miles which separate the towns of Marmande and Podensac, in the Lot et Garonne department where the hornets were first spotted.
The hornets can grow to up to 1.8in and, with a wingspan of 3in, are renowned for inflicting a bite which has been compared to a hot nail entering the body.
Some Asian bees actually have a unique defense trick to protect themselves from the giant hornets called heatballing. They bees surround a hornet and raise the temperature of the hornet with their body heat and literally cook it to death. Unfortunately, the European bees do not share this defensive behavior with Asian bees.