We are currently in the midst of hornet season - as 3 varieties (that i know of) are potentially deadly, it pays to be alert to them, especially if you are a hiker or live in the countryside. They are, in fact, very common. Here’s a video of some tiger heads that set up their hornet factory on my land in Taidong. Includes footage of them spitting venom.
Nice videos of local culture, I have seen hornets nests quite regularly in the hills, always know not to make too much excitement around them. My theory is that hornets were faced with many sizable predators on the island like the black bear, clouded leopard, many types of birds of prey and snakes. The extreme aggression and spitting venom would probably have evolved to combat the black bear more than anything, they love to climb trees and raid nests.
That would account for them being particularly aggressive to people wearing dark colours too.
Do you see other animals on your land, like flying squirrels?
Thanks HH. That’s an interesting theory. I had wondered about why they seemed to have a total overkill on the defensive weapons, but your explanation makes sense. It would also explain why they seem to be so common now if their natural predators have been driven to the verge of extinction.
There are flying squirrels around, in the mountains behind my place, though i haven’t seen any on my actual property. There’s a bit of famland between my place and the mountains so that throws up a barrier for most native animals. However, a friend who only lives a few hundred metres away on land that abutts the mountains has monkeys and pigs as regular visitors.
I did have something that was attacking the chickens - kind of like a mongoose - supposedly quite rare.
That is really interesting and I hate to say this at my age but “cool”.
Thanks for the vid. I have been watching similar videos on Youtube about Japanese hornets and how they are farmed to produce a special alcoholic drink.
I find out that this is common in Taiwan too and even tasted a “hornet wine” a few months ago. It tasted disgusting and just like what you would expect hornets to taste like i.e. bitter and venomous.
Cheers for that. Very cool, indeed.
I’d really like a more full explanation of what’s going on, however. What ends up being eaten? And how. It’s not honey, I presume, as you don’t go to a restaurant to eat honey. And what part of the body do the hornet’s spit from? What is going on with the hornets being scooped from the liquid into a bucket? Dead hornets? And so forth. Explaining more of what we’re seeing and taking us through the process would be brilliant.
[quote=“Dial”]Cheers for that. Very cool, indeed.
I’d really like a more full explanation of what’s going on, however. What ends up being eaten? And how. It’s not honey, I presume, as you don’t go to a restaurant to eat honey. And what part of the body do the hornet’s spit from? What is going on with the hornets being scooped from the liquid into a bucket? Dead hornets? And so forth. Explaining more of what we’re seeing and taking us through the process would be brilliant.[/quote]
Thanks! And good point about the lack of explanation. There was more, but it didn’t make the cut somehow. I made an earlier one about the Asian giant and maybe explained it there and felt like i was repeating the same thing.
The edible part is the larvae - sushimi style is ok, but i prefer fried - it’s quite a taste sensation.
The actual hornets are put in rice wine - the bowl you can see them being knocked into is full of rice wine. They are later bottled. They said it was critical that we did it on a night without rain as water in the mix would stuff up the rice wine’s cellaring potential. They will keep them for 10 years or more. Though i’ve heard others say that it’s best if you drink it after just a few hours if you want the strongest effect.
The black tiger head hornet spits from the mouth (the Asian giant doesn’t have this ability). I had heard they spit, but assumed it was actual squirting from their sting, a behaviour which i’ve seen them doing casually around my house - a kind of marking thing I guess - actually it may be from their arse, i’m not 100% sure, but it wasn’t the mouth. It wasn’t until i watched the video that i saw it was coming from the mouth. I do apologize for my crappy filming skills, but if you look closely, you can see one spit from the mouth in the part where we are back home and A-fa is holding one in his gloved hand in front of the camera. I was so impressed that it features again on slow mo at the end.
The hornets being scooped up aren’t all actualy dead yet - dead drunk though for sure - but they do die fairly quicky - and in a pretty nice way i think. The other thing is that once their wings are wet, they can’t fly. The reason they are being scooped out is to store them away and make room for more to land in the bowl of rice wine.
The light is important - most of the hornets focussed their aggression on it more than us during the raid on their nest and that’s how they get most of them into the rice wine. When we got back to my house, 6-7 followed us back. However, they weren’t worried and took off their protective clothing coz they said they were still blaming the light. And they were right. They just buzzed about the light all night while we were just 5m away. Though he did say to stay indoors for the following two days.
[quote=“fenlander”]That is really interesting and I hate to say this at my age but “cool”.
Thanks for the vid. I have been watching similar videos on Youtube about Japanese hornets and how they are farmed to produce a special alcoholic drink.
I find out that this is common in Taiwan too and even tasted a “hornet wine” a few months ago. It tasted disgusting and just like what you would expect hornets to taste like i.e. bitter and venomous.[/quote]
Thanks fenlander. I’ll take it. At my age i don’t get to hear it too much.
That’s interesting about the Japanese farming hornet juice. I do know that the Japanese woman who won the Olympic marathon swears by it. Though i would have thought the rice wine effect might have slowed her down a bit around the 30k mark.
When you say ‘farming’ do you mean they have actual farms of hornets, are they going out and harvesting it in the wild like they do here?
cool video!
Question, do you know the latin names of hornets here? a few nights ago at the farm i got hit by something. at first i thought a snake bite so i packed up and headed home right away preparing to get to the hospital, but by the time i got home i could feel it was sure not snake venom…but it hurt like a mother! and bee/wasp stings from back in canada dont hurt at all to me. I was also thinking centipede, but bite mark not the same, this was one spot and what looked like a black spot as if a cactus spine had got stuck in there. swelling wasnt bad, but it hurt for a good 2 days, though the severe pain was only a few hours.
also got this guy a few years ago and pinned it, is this whats in the video? at the time we saw about 6 the longest being about 4-5cm.
[quote=“dulan drift”][quote=“fenlander”]That is really interesting and I hate to say this at my age but “cool”.
Thanks for the vid. I have been watching similar videos on Youtube about Japanese hornets and how they are farmed to produce a special alcoholic drink.
I find out that this is common in Taiwan too and even tasted a “hornet wine” a few months ago. It tasted disgusting and just like what you would expect hornets to taste like i.e. bitter and venomous.[/quote]
Thanks fenlander. I’ll take it. At my age i don’t get to hear it too much.
That’s interesting about the Japanese farming hornet juice. I do know that the Japanese woman who won the Olympic marathon swears by it. Though i would have thought the rice wine effect might have slowed her down a bit around the 30k mark.
When you say ‘farming’ do you mean they have actual farms of hornets, are they going out and harvesting it in the wild like they do here?[/quote]
[quote=“Pingdong”]cool video!
Question, do you know the latin names of hornets here? a few nights ago at the farm i got hit by something. at first i thought a snake bite so i packed up and headed home right away preparing to get to the hospital, but by the time i got home i could feel it was sure not snake venom…but it hurt like a mother! and bee/wasp stings from back in canada dont hurt at all to me. I was also thinking centipede, but bite mark not the same, this was one spot and what looked like a black spot as if a cactus spine had got stuck in there. swelling wasn’t bad, but it hurt for a good 2 days, though the severe pain was only a few hours.
also got this guy a few years ago and pinned it, is this whats in the video? at the time we saw about 6 the longest being about 4-5cm.[/quote]
Aisan giants are called vespa mandarinia - don’t know what the smaller tiger heads (in the video) are called, but assume they are a related species.
The fact that it was at night makes me think it wasn’t a hornet as they are usually not active at night (unless you are raiding their nest). Also, pronounced swelling is one of the the main symptoms. Though the pain sounds about right - intense for a few hours, then still hurts for a couple of days. They also hurt like hell when they inject you. Where were you stung? On the foot? I don’t know what a centipede bite looks like, but i have heard that they are bloody painful - some say worse than the hornet. There is also a very weird looking large black insect here that is active at night. I don’t know if it can bite, but it looks pretty menacing - a bit like a scorpion, but doesn’t seem to have the scorpion tail. I would love to know what it is if anyone has the info.
The picture you posted looks like the Asian giant.
hmmm, i wonder then. Centipeds have 2 fang pinching things so should have 2 marks. they also bite sideways and this was s direct straight in thing. they sure hurt a hell of a lot!
Swelling, had almost none, though i have never ever had much swelling from any previous animal stings/bites either, i jstu don’t react much…but the things here i am new to.
It was about 2am and very humid/foggy but not rainy and the farm was not flooded. I was clearing grass/weeds and using my feet to kick back thick clumps as i walked backwards cutting it as i went, so as predictable as it sounds now i got it right onthe back of my ankle, on that muscle that sticks out. it was near the dirt, so its not a nest like in your video, its something in low grass or dirt, hence my thinking snake or centipede at first, but wasnt either.
Are you thinking of the arachnid Vinegaroon? Taiwan has this species, very common, Typopeltis crucifer. I used to breed them here for a while for kicks. Cool animals, completely harmless. they spray out their tail, which can sting like a super concentrated vinegar. natural seasoning while hiking in the bush 
[quote=“dulan drift”]We are currently in the midst of hornet season - as 3 varieties (that I know of) are potentially deadly, it pays to be alert to them, especially if you are a hiker or live in the countryside. They are, in fact, very common. Here’s a video of some tiger heads that set up their hornet factory on my land in Taidong. Includes footage of them spitting venom.
[/quote]
Quite fascinating! Thank you!
[quote=“Pingdong”]hmmm, I wonder then. Centipeds have 2 fang pinching things so should have 2 marks. they also bite sideways and this was s direct straight in thing. they sure hurt a hell of a lot!
Swelling, had almost none, though I have never ever had much swelling from any previous animal stings/bites either, i jstu don’t react much…but the things here I am new to.
It was about 2am and very humid/foggy but not rainy and the farm was not flooded. I was clearing grass/weeds and using my feet to kick back thick clumps as i walked backwards cutting it as I went, so as predictable as it sounds now i got it right onthe back of my ankle, on that muscle that sticks out. it was near the dirt, so its not a nest like in your video, its something in low grass or dirt, hence my thinking snake or centipede at first, but wasn’t either.
Are you thinking of the arachnid Vinegaroon? Taiwan has this species, very common, Typopeltis crucifer. I used to breed them here for a while for kicks. Cool animals, completely harmless. they spray out their tail, which can sting like a super concentrated vinegar. natural seasoning while hiking in the bush 
[/quote]
The Asian giant (different from the one in the vid) actually builds its nest on the ground. But for it to be at night, you would have to have been very close to the nest. Did you check the area again in daytime? Most likely you would also have heard them - they have a deep foreboding buzz. Also, they are only active in late summer and autumn - was that when it happened?
One other question remains - what were you doing cutting grass at 2 o’clock in the morning - without proper shoes?
[quote=“dulan drift”][quote=“Dial”]Cheers for that. Very cool, indeed.
I’d really like a more full explanation of what’s going on, however. What ends up being eaten? And how. It’s not honey, I presume, as you don’t go to a restaurant to eat honey. And what part of the body do the hornet’s spit from? What is going on with the hornets being scooped from the liquid into a bucket? Dead hornets? And so forth. Explaining more of what we’re seeing and taking us through the process would be brilliant.[/quote]
Thanks! And good point about the lack of explanation. There was more, but it didn’t make the cut somehow. I made an earlier one about the Asian giant and maybe explained it there and felt like I was repeating the same thing.
The edible part is the larvae - sushimi style is ok, but i prefer fried - it’s quite a taste sensation.
The actual hornets are put in rice wine - the bowl you can see them being knocked into is full of rice wine. They are later bottled. They said it was critical that we did it on a night without rain as water in the mix would stuff up the rice wine’s cellaring potential. They will keep them for 10 years or more. Though I’ve heard others say that it’s best if you drink it after just a few hours if you want the strongest effect.
The black tiger head hornet spits from the mouth (the Asian giant doesn’t have this ability). I had heard they spit, but assumed it was actual squirting from their sting, a behaviour which I’ve seen them doing casually around my house - a kind of marking thing I guess - actually it may be from their arse, I’m not 100% sure, but it wasn’t the mouth. It wasn’t until i watched the video that I saw it was coming from the mouth. I do apologize for my crappy filming skills, but if you look closely, you can see one spit from the mouth in the part where we are back home and A-fa is holding one in his gloved hand in front of the camera. I was so impressed that it features again on slow mo at the end.
The hornets being scooped up aren’t all actualy dead yet - dead drunk though for sure - but they do die fairly quicky - and in a pretty nice way I think. The other thing is that once their wings are wet, they can’t fly. The reason they are being scooped out is to store them away and make room for more to land in the bowl of rice wine.
The light is important - most of the hornets focussed their aggression on it more than us during the raid on their nest and that’s how they get most of them into the rice wine. When we got back to my house, 6-7 followed us back. However, they weren’t worried and took off their protective clothing because they said they were still blaming the light. And they were right. They just buzzed about the light all night while we were just 5m away. Though he did say to stay indoors for the following two days.[/quote]
Thanks DD, that explanation makes the whole enterprise much more comprehensible. I’ve got to say it again - ‘very cool’. Ha. Eating larvae makes sense- Bear Grylls does it all the time and the Maori in New Zealand traditionally eat a type of larvae found in rotten logs - 3-4 cm long fat white things called Huhu bugs. And putting the hornets into rice wine and then cellaring to drink sounds ‘interesting’. I’d be curious what the active ingredients are in that mix - and the ‘benefits’. You write that some suggest drinking the mix asap for ‘the strongest effect’. Does that mean nastiest taste or is there an actual distinguishable ‘hit’ that Tiger Head Hornets provide. I wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’ve heard it said that most drugs are in effect toxins which the body reacts to. There could be something in the hornets that effects the body more than your usual rice wine. Do your Taiwanese friends say there’s anything special about the resulting liquor?
I meant to say about your filming skills. I noticed the first time I watched that it wasn’t Discovery Channel I’d chanced upon. I’m still impressed - and also a reminder about how much skill and set-up must be required for all those animal shows.
Now that I think about it, most of the times those Discovery/National Geographic channels show night filming, they’re not much better than your efforts. 
Obviously the idea of the ‘hornet wine’ is that the wasps venom has a physiological effect on the body…whatever that may be. Drinking it earlier than later should mean more of the venom is still active. I guess you should get some type of tingling sensation in the mouth or lips if the wine really has some active ingredients that diffuse from the hornets. I have seen aborigines out and about in Taoyuan county hunting for hornets nests to make such wine, you can buy it at their stalls.
[quote]
The Asian giant (different from the one in the vid) actually builds its nest on the ground. But for it to be at night, you would have to have been very close to the nest. Did you check the area again in daytime? Most likely you would also have heard them - they have a deep foreboding buzz. Also, they are only active in late summer and autumn - was that when it happened?
One other question remains - what were you doing cutting grass at 2 o’clock in the morning - without proper shoes?[/quote]
I left immediately as i thought it was a snake, so i just went home asap, didnt bother checking for noises. The following days the farm flooded so i wasnt back for about 5 days, and didnt notice anything there. But i do notice a lot of big holes that look like scorpion holes…seen as taiwan is scorpionless, i always assumed mice…maybe wasps? about 4-5cm diameter, slightly flattened. This happened 2 weeks ago i think.
PS. day job has me busy in daylight, plus im canadian…too F’ing hot! weed pulling is a late night afair over this way or this hairy white bastard. i was wearing hiking shoes, but it got me just above the top and through my sock.
I’m curious, how was the wine? i had the larvae thing at our wedding here, not a big fan personally. But the wine sounds interesting. Is that the same stuff you see with the honey comb on it? i always passed it off as mead or something.
Foreboding? I haven’t seen that word since I read it used to describe Darth Vader. Two metres tall. Bipedal. Foreboding. 
I have seen a scorpion in Yamingshan Nat. Park.
Quick question: What are the purple f*ckers that zip about like they mean business? I’ve seen them hiking, especially in Taroko. Shaped like a torpedo, about the size of a large bee, but much tougher. Cheers.
Foreboding? I haven’t seen that word since I read it used to describe Darth Vader. Two metres tall. Bipedal. Foreboding. [/quote]
I’ve got the ‘twice bitten, three times foreboding’ thing happening. They do routinely buzz me while i am outside working and it still gives me the creeps.