giant Asian hornet

Today a "suzumebachi" flew into the classroom where I was teaching.  All classrooms have a wall of screenless windows that are always open when it's warm. Today a visitor entered through said windows. The students quickly alerted us, and told us to turn off the lights because "Saito-sensei said so." We followed the orders, and the predator flew toward the window. However, it flew into the closed window. But brave little Ms. Tanaka used her quick wit to open and then close the windows in such a way as to get the monster on the outside. Bravo. We applauded.

What is this terrible creature you ask? A "giant Asian hornet." And Japanese people are terrified of them. So today I looked 'em up. THEY'RE TERRIFYING. Japanese people are right on about this!

Suzumebachi translates to "sparrow bee," because they can grow as big as sparrows! They're bodies avg. 2 inches long with a 3 inch wingspan and 1/4 inch stinger. The venom contains at least 8 toxic chemicals, and they can be lethal, even to those who aren't allergic to bees. Between 20 to 40 people die from suzumebachi stings in Japan each year. One of the chemicals in the venom actually releases a scent that attracts more giant Asian hornets! 怖い！

Dream about this tonight: