I never knew hornets were such bad mofo’s.
I think this is why there are so many sport teams named the Hornets and so few named the Honey Bees.
Love the soundtrack/narration. Oh the humanity!
That is because hornets and wasps are predators that hunt for other insects and invertebrates to take back to the nest to feed their young, while bees are “vegetarians” and collect pollen (a protein source) and make honey to feed their young. This is why bees are “fuzzy” and wasps and hornets are not. I could go on (did my Masters Thesis on Pollination Ecology), but I’ll spare you.
Just suffice it to say that all the hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) will attact when provoked. However, hornets have a reputation for being paticularly agressive.
I once watched a Bald Faced Hornet snatch a yellowjacket out of the air and chow it down like a cheeseburger. It was very impressive.
[quote]nikolo wrote:
I never knew hornets were such bad mofo’s.
http://www.filecabi.net/video/hornets-bees16.html [/quote]
I saw a TV documentary about those hornets.
They also mentioned another specie of bees who fight those hornets by raising the temperature of the hive until the hornets “overheat” and paralyze. Then the bees kill them.
Bee all that you can bee.
Fascinating info Gojira. Nature never ceases to amaze.
I think an arena football team would be ideal for the name The Honey Bees. The tag line could read: Bee all that you can Bee.
That beats just about every war movie i’ve ever seen
[quote]gojira wrote:
That is because hornets and wasps are predators that hunt for other insects and invertebrates to take back to the nest to feed their young, while bees are “vegetarians” and collect pollen (a protein source) and make honey to feed their young. This is why bees are “fuzzy” and wasps and hornets are not. I could go on (did my Masters Thesis on Pollination Ecology), but I’ll spare you.
Just suffice it to say that all the hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) will attact when provoked. However, hornets have a reputation for being paticularly agressive.
I once watched a Bald Faced Hornet snatch a yellowjacket out of the air and chow it down like a cheeseburger. It was very impressive.[/quote]
Bald faced hornets will consume any insect the can catch. From catipillars to bees and smaller wasps, all are game.
As far as agressiveness goes, those that nest in colonies are going to be easier provoked to attack than lone nesters. The colonists have instincts that sense danger and their sting venom is designed to be painful, not just pralyzing, which is why bumblebees and paper wasps inflict such a painful wound, as opposed to mud daubers and potters wasps that have a moderate sting.
The knowledge of some of the members here at T-Nation is impressive to say the least.
Someone else posted this a couple months ago, but it had Metallica’s “Orion” as the back track.
Another question: Who has come into contact with the Giant hornet that is displayed here? I have only seen one or two, and have never encountered a nest of them. I have come across all other hornet nests, however. Some on good terms, some accidentally on bad.
[quote]gojira wrote:
This is why bees are “fuzzy” and wasps and hornets are not. I could go on (did my Masters Thesis on Pollination Ecology), but I’ll spare you.
[/quote]
Hell, don’t spare us, give us details. I know the hairs of the pollen collectors helps to pollinate the flowers they visit, thereby giving the plant a greater DNA base to their seeds, which helps the plants further their survival against infection and other detriments.
Funny thing is, while wasps feed their larva other insects, the adults are nectar drinkers. Yet they don’t have the pollinating capacity like the bees (and butterflies) do. I wonder if that’s because flowers aren’t as important to the survival of the specie as much as the larva food is.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
Someone else posted this a couple months ago, but it had Metallica’s “Orion” as the back track.
[/quote]
Grrr, I’m a reposter. That sucks.
[quote]nikolo wrote:
BIGRAGOO wrote:
Someone else posted this a couple months ago, but it had Metallica’s “Orion” as the back track.
Grrr, I’m a reposter. That sucks.
[/quote]
It’s ok. It’s still a cool video.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
gojira wrote:
This is why bees are “fuzzy” and wasps and hornets are not. I could go on (did my Masters Thesis on Pollination Ecology), but I’ll spare you.
Hell, don’t spare us, give us details. I know the hairs of the pollen collectors helps to pollinate the flowers they visit, thereby giving the plant a greater DNA base to their seeds, which helps the plants further their survival against infection and other detriments.
Funny thing is, while wasps feed their larva other insects, the adults are nectar drinkers. Yet they don’t have the pollinating capacity like the bees (and butterflies) do. I wonder if that’s because flowers aren’t as important to the survival of the specie as much as the larva food is. [/quote]
Technically, any insect that enters a flower for nectar can act as a pollinator by causing pollen to be transferred to the stigma. We see this with wasps, beetles and even flies. Many of the small “bees” you see on flowers are actually flies of the family Syrphidae (often called “flower flies”). The reason flowers go through the expense of making nectar is to attract potential pollinators, thus improving their fitness.
However, there are those that cheat the system. Enter nectar robbery. In the early spring when the new queens emerge, the choice of flowers to collect nectar from is limited. Some of these bees, such as Bombus affinis have tongues to short too reach the nectar in flowers with long corollas. They then bite a hole though the ouside of the flower and “steal” the nectar without entering the flower and potentially acting as a pollinator. Capenters bees are famous for this trick. And as we all know, they have excellent chewing mouthparts.
How does this effect the fitness of the flower? It doesn’t, as there are other visitors to the flowers to collect not only nectar, but also pollen.
There are “cheaters” all through nature. It’s a fascinating subject.
[quote]nikolo wrote:
I never knew hornets were such bad mofo’s.
http://www.filecabi.net/video/hornets-bees16.html[/quote]
And they really cool thing is that they are all females. Social insects represent the ultimate sisterhood where are the workers are female and males are only produced for their “genetic contribution”.
This system is based upon genetics and is called Haplodiploidy, where the females are diploid (two sets of chromosomes) while the males are haploid (one set of chromosomes)and are produced from unfertiliized eggs. This results in the females sharing 75% of their genes with each other (you share only 50% with your siblings) and accounts for the altruistic behaviour known as “kin selection”.
Males (drones) are produced when the colony reaches a certain size. They are fed and cared for by their sisters. They do no work, such as foraging or caring for the queen. When mature, they are forced out of the nest and may be killed the the same sisters that raised them should they try to re-enter the nest. Drones have no stinger and therefore cannot defend themselves.
Drones hang out and await the “nuptial flight”. Once the virgin queens emerge from the nest, the drones seek them out to mate with them. Drones die shotly after mating, if the act itself doesn’t kill them.
And if you think bees are cool, don’t even get me started on ants.
[quote]gojira wrote:
BIGRAGOO wrote:
gojira wrote:
This is why bees are “fuzzy” and wasps and hornets are not. I could go on (did my Masters Thesis on Pollination Ecology), but I’ll spare you.
Hell, don’t spare us, give us details. I know the hairs of the pollen collectors helps to pollinate the flowers they visit, thereby giving the plant a greater DNA base to their seeds, which helps the plants further their survival against infection and other detriments.
Funny thing is, while wasps feed their larva other insects, the adults are nectar drinkers. Yet they don’t have the pollinating capacity like the bees (and butterflies) do. I wonder if that’s because flowers aren’t as important to the survival of the specie as much as the larva food is.
Technically, any insect that enters a flower for nectar can act as a pollinator by causing pollen to be transferred to the stigma. We see this with wasps, beetles and even flies. Many of the small “bees” you see on flowers are actually flies of the family Syrphidae (often called “flower flies”).[/quote] I see these all the time [quote]The reason flowers go through the expense of making nectar is to attract potential pollinators, thus improving their fitness.
However, there are those that cheat the system. Enter nectar robbery. In the early spring when the new queens emerge, the choice of flowers to collect nectar from is limited. Some of these bees, such as Bombus affinis have tongues to short too reach the nectar in flowers with long corollas. They then bite a hole though the ouside of the flower and “steal” the nectar without entering the flower and potentially acting as a pollinator. Capenters bees are famous for this trick. And as we all know, they have excellent chewing mouthparts.[/quote] I really dislike these bees because of how effective their boring capabilities are.
How does this effect the fitness of the flower? It doesn’t, as there are other visitors to the flowers to collect not only nectar, but also pollen.
There are “cheaters” all through nature. It’s a fascinating subject.[/quote]
[quote]gojira wrote:
nikolo wrote:
I never knew hornets were such bad mofo’s.
http://www.filecabi.net/video/hornets-bees16.html
And they really cool thing is that they are all females. Social insects represent the ultimate sisterhood where are the workers are female and males are only produced for their “genetic contribution”. [/quote]
Add to that, the females stinger is a modified ovipositor with a venom gland attached inside.
[quote]This system is based upon genetics and is called Haplodiploidy, where the females are diploid (two sets of chromosomes) while the males are haploid (one set of chromosomes)and are produced from unfertiliized eggs. This results in the females sharing 75% of their genes with each other (you share only 50% with your siblings) and accounts for the altruistic behaviour known as “kin selection”.
Males (drones) are produced when the colony reaches a certain size. They are fed and cared for by their sisters. They do no work, such as foraging or caring for the queen. When mature, they are forced out of the nest and may be killed the the same sisters that raised them should they try to re-enter the nest. Drones have no stinger and therefore cannot defend themselves.
Drones hang out and await the “nuptial flight”. Once the virgin queens emerge from the nest, the drones seek them out to mate with them. Drones die shotly after mating, if the act itself doesn’t kill them.[/quote]
It doesn’t pay to be a male bee
I’m in PA for 2 weeks, and working at the University of Philadelphia, I saw the biggest bee/hornet thing (yea, I know, not very scientific) I’ve ever seen.
It was probably as thick as my thumb, and almost as long. Scarry sumbitch. The guy I was working with (old, back woods type) just goes up to it and steps on it; it doesn’t die.
We went to the parking garage to get lunch, come back and it’s still moving. He steps on it again and it still doesn’t die. I heard this thig crunch twice, and it’s still moving.
The guy said he get a lot of them around his lilac trees. He seems to think they nest inside the trees. I don’t know if they’re the same thing as these, but it scared the crap out of me.
[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
The guy said he get a lot of them around his lilac trees. He seems to think they nest inside the trees. I don’t know if they’re the same thing as these, but it scared the crap out of me.[/quote]
Did it look like this?
[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
I’m in PA for 2 weeks, and working at the University of Philadelphia, I saw the biggest bee/hornet thing (yea, I know, not very scientific) I’ve ever seen.
It was probably as thick as my thumb, and almost as long. Scarry sumbitch. The guy I was working with (old, back woods type) just goes up to it and steps on it; it doesn’t die.
We went to the parking garage to get lunch, come back and it’s still moving. He steps on it again and it still doesn’t die. I heard this thig crunch twice, and it’s still moving.
The guy said he get a lot of them around his lilac trees. He seems to think they nest inside the trees. I don’t know if they’re the same thing as these, but it scared the crap out of me.[/quote]
Speaking of super large bee/hornet things. I saw one at the school weight room a few weeks back trying to burrow into the windowsill.
I didn’t want to mess with that thing since it wasn’t doing too much, but when I had to go near it, I smushed that thing to hell with all the paper towels I could find. It could have been one of these hornets. I thought it was a queen bee or something.
The bees should have waited for an escort.