(no subject)

[haggholm]

Today, I've learned about the Japanese giant hornet:

According to Wikipedia (emphases added),

The stinger of the Asian giant hornet is about 6 mm (¼ in) in length, and injects an especially potent venom that contains, like many bee and wasp venoms, a cytolytic peptide (specifically, a mastoparan) that can damage tissue by stimulating phospholipase action, in addition to its own intrinsic phospholipase. Masato Ono, an entomologist at Tamagawa University near Tokyo, described the sensation as feeling "like a hot nail being driven into my leg.".

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.

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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.

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The enzyme in the venom is so strong that it can dissolve human tissue.