Giant fucking hornets

Hi kids! Today I'd like to talk to you about Vespa mandarinia, also known as the asian giant hornet.


Quoth wikipedia, "Vespa mandarinia, known colloquially as the Yak Killer Hornet, is the world's largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. Its body length is approximately 50.8 mm (2.0 in), with a wingspan of about 76 mm (3 in). Queens may reach a length of 55 mm (2.2 in). Due to its size, it is known in Japan as Suzume-Bachi or Sparrow-Bee.

It can be found in Primorsky Krai, Korea, China, Taiwan (where it is called the "tiger bee"), Indochina, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, but is most common in mountainous areas of Japan"

That last part is fantastic, because that's where I am. I spend a lot of time in the woods, and I've had the good fortune (?) to run into a couple of these fuckers - they sound like helicopters. Oh, what's that, Wikipedia?

"The stinger of the Asian giant hornet is about 6 mm (¼ in) in length and injects an especially potent venom [...] Masato Ono, an entomologist at Tamagawa University near Tokyo, described the sensation as feeling 'like a hot nail being driven into my leg.'"


Wow, that sucks. But at least it's temporary, right?

"An allergic human stung by the giant hornet may die from an allergic reaction to the venom; but the venom contains a neurotoxin called mandaratoxin which can be lethal to people who are not allergic if the dose is sufficient. About 70 people die each year in Japan after being stung by giant hornets."

fuuuuuuuck. Here are some more awesome facts.

* The venom contains at least eight distinct chemicals, some of which damage tissue, some of which cause pain, and at least one which has an odor that attracts more hornets to the victim.
* The venom contains 5% acetylcholine, a greater concentration than is present in bee or other wasp venoms. Acetylcholine stimulates the pain nerve fibres, intensifying the pain of the sting.
* The enzyme in the venom is so strong that it can dissolve human tissue. On some occasions, the sting may be compared to the effects of a spider bite.
* Like all hornets, V. mandarinia has a barbless stinger, allowing it to sting repeatedly.


Luckily, given that the things are deadly and about the size of your thumb, they're not particularly afraid of anything. You'd probably have to be pretty stupid to be stung by one.

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Beijing's kitty death camps

Remember the ZOOS OF DEATH? Well, those wacky Chinese are still up to no good!

Olympics clean-up Chinese style: Inside Beijing's shocking death camp for cats

Thousands of pet cats in Beijing are being abandoned by their owners and sent to die in secretive government pounds as China mounts an aggressive drive to clean up the capital in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Hundreds of cats a day are being rounded and crammed into cages so small they cannot even turn around.

Then they are trucked to what animal welfare groups describe as death camps on the edges of the city.

Once again, the comments are the funniest part!

The Chinese people should be ashamed of themselves for killing cats and skinning dogs alive!

- Lyn Parker, USA

Yes, every single Chinese person should be ashamed.

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Chinese people throw goats at lions, are evil

Animals torn to pieces by lions in front of baying crowds: the spectator sport China DOESN'T want you to see

The smiling children giggled as they patted the young goat on its head and tickled it behind the ears.
[...]
It could have been a happy scene from a family zoo anywhere in the world but for what happened next.
A man hoisted up the goat and nonchalantly threw it over a wall into a pit full of hungry lions. The poor goat tried to run for its life, but it didn't stand a chance. The lions quickly surrounded it and started tearing at its flesh.

China is fucked up, okay, we get it. Do we really need sensationalist demonization like this?

"It's almost a form of child abuse," says Carol McKenna of the OneVoice animal welfare group. "The cruelty of Chinese zoos is disgusting, but think of the impact on the children watching it. What kind of future is there for China if its children think this kind of cruelty is normal?

"In China, if you love animals you want to kill yourself every day out of despair."

Oh, how about this!

"Zoos like this make me want to boycott everything Chinese," says Emma Milne, star of the BBC's Vets In Practice.

"I'd like to rip out everything in my house that's made in China. I have big problems with their culture.

I have big problems with their culture. Rattle that sabre! Here's a hint, people: there's a little more to "culture" than the things you don't like. Doesn't anyone remember Ota Benga, the African guy they put in the Bronx Zoo's monkey house?

Okay, enough outrage at a stupid tabloid. Check out some of the idiotic comments! (the first is my favorite)

Disqusting and sick; Is this the 21st Century? Never EVER having a Chinese meal again; Awful;

This makes me weep. If I can possibly boycott Chinese products I will do so. What a disgusting "culture".

How horrific it is to think of the suffering of these poor defenseless animals. It makes me wish (making me no better than them unfortunately.....)we could watch some of the handlers or bosses suffer a far more painful and slower demise in place of the creatures that are used for "sport".

This is absolutely barbaric! What type of human being or people in a culture get their kicks off of seeing such brutality on INNOCENT animals? Obviously the answer is the people in China.

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