Aug 06 (Japanese natural beekeeping) - The giant hornet is the largest hornet in the world. They attack honey bee colonies in a group and steal everything in the hive, pupae, larvae, and honey.
Japan has two types of honey bees, the imported Western honey bee and native Japanese honey bee.
The Western bee does not have any countermeasures against the giant hornet.
A few dozen giant hornets can destroy a Western honey bee colony that has several tens of thousands of bees.
No Western honey bees live in the wild in Japan. One of the reasons is giant hornets.
On the other hand, native Japanese honey bees have a countermeasure against giant hornets.
They can defeat giant hornets when they band together.