Aggressive Hornets Responsible for Deaths in China

BEIJING – Authorities in northern China are struggling to control a spate of attacks by aggressive hornets that has now killed 42 people and injured at least 1,640, behindthewall.nbcnews.com reports.

Residents in the cities of Ankang, Hanzhong and Shangluo in Shaanxi province have been hardest hit, according to local news reports, with 206 people still in hospitals for treatment. Of those, 37 are said to be in critical condition.

The attacks are blamed on a particularly aggressive species of hornet known as the Asian giant hornet or Vespa mandarinia. At nearly two inches long (4.5 centimeters long) with a quarter-inch (6-millimeter) stinger, the Asian giant hornet is the largest in the world and has a reputation as a relentless hunter that stalks its prey — normally honeybees — in coordinated attacks.

Source: Behingthewall.nbcnews.com