The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) is the world’s largest hornet. They can grow to be more than two inches (5 centimeters) in length, and just a few dozen of them are able to wipe out entire honey bee colonies. Besides packing a powerful sting, they’ve also got incredibly strong mandibles which they use to cut honey bees into pieces.

The following National Geographic video shows the wasps brutally raiding a honey bee hive, but there’s a happy ending as the second half of the video shows how Japanese honey bees have figured out a way to deal with the invaders.

Besides raiding honey bee hives, the giant hornets have recently been in the news for stinging people in China, causing at least 28 deaths.

Read more at:

– World’s Largest Hornets: Vespa Mandarinia

– The Deadly Insect That Scares Us! Thankfully they’re only in Asia… for now!

– Killer hornets rampage through China