While the Japanese Giant Hornet is certainly a horrifying affirmation of nature’s twisted, murderous intent it’s also a fascinating creature cautiously adored by the many warped freaks we call our friends. Apparently this fascination isn’t limited to the aforementioned bosom-dregs of society, extending to the Japanese, who treasure the enzyme rich honey created by the brutal beasts, believing it to have an invigorating effect.
The honey is collected by questionably sane apiarists on a small island in Japan who fortify the treat with methods intended to increase the enzyme levels of the honey, all so you can get the most venomous bang for your buck.
Being something of a tea zealot — and thus obsessed with constant experimentation in the field of tea accessorizing — I can ignore the hefty dosh needed to pick up a measly 4.5 ounces of this odd treat. Have a peek at the hornet honey dispensary, while currently fresh out of virulent hornet heavings they’ve got a wide array of insect-centric delectables sure to please even the most discerning adventurer’s palette.
The Asian giant hornet is the worlds largest hornet, reaching lengths of up to 2.2 inches. Their venom is acidic, and contains mandaratoxin which, in sufficient doses, can cause death in humans, even those without allergies. Asian giant hornets are responsible for about seventy deaths a year. The venom also contains a pheromone that attracts other hornets, allowing them to predate in groups.
It is this which helps them to overcome European honey bee hives. Thirty hornets can massacre thirty-thousand European honey bees, which they behead or bisect with their powerful jaws, and whose stingers cannot penetrate the hornet’s thick exoskeleton. They then consume the bees’s honey and take the bees’s larvae back with them, to feed their young.
The native Japanese honey bee, however, has figured out a way to fight back. When the initial hornet scout approaches the hive they lure it inside. Once inside, they swarm the hornet en masse, covering it entirely and keeping it from moving. They then begin to vibrate their flight muscles. This has the effect of raising the temperature of the honey bee mass to 47 °C (117 °F). The honey bees can just tolerate this temperature, but the hornets cannot survive more than 45 °C (113 °F), and are effectively roasted alive.
In sheer defiance of the World Wide Web Consortium's will, Ectomo was designed using a non-web-standard font. Luckily, it is included in the excellent font pack released by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, which can be freely downloaded in Mac and PC formats here. Ectomo should still look fine without it, though.
