A new video has surfaced online that shows Japanese honeybees killing “murder hornets,” which have been making the news in recent weeks.
Twitter user Brandon Morse posted a video of a murder hornet entering a honeybee hive. Soon after, the hornet attacks one of the bees. Then, a bunch of bees swarm the hornet, covering it completely.
“While the hornets may be much bigger in size compared to the Japanese honeybees, the large number of bees in the hive allows them to gain the advantage and defeat the hornet,” according to Newsweek.
Morse said the Japanese bees use a “brutal but satisfying” method to take down the murder hornets.
The bees in the video use a “ambush defense” to combat the hornets, according to Katy Prudic, an associate professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, according to USA Today.
“Japanese honeybees have evolved an ambush defense against these hornets. When a hornet scout finds a honeybee hive, the honeybees lure her in, then collectively pounce on the hornet, beating their wings as much as they can,” she said. “This flurry attack raises the temperature around the hornet, eventually killing her and a few of the honeybees closest to her. The hive will remain undiscovered to the hornet colony and live to see another day.”
The deadly Asian giant hornets made headlines this month. According to The New York Times, the bees have arrived in the United States. In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people per year. The bees kill with multiple stings.
The bees “can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young,” according to The New York Times.