Asian giant hornet Coloring Pages

Name Origin and English Name

The Asian giant hornet is the biggest and strongest hornet in Japan. People say it got the Japanese name "Suzumebachi" because it is as big as a sparrow, or because its nest looks like sparrow feathers. It has "O" (giant) at the start of its Japanese name because it is the biggest of them all!

In English, it is called the "Asian giant hornet." When people found it in other countries, it was so scary that it was on the news as the "murder hornet."

When Can You See It?

Asian giant hornets are active from spring to fall, around April to November. In spring, a queen awakes from winter sleep. She starts building a nest all by herself! By summer, there are many worker hornets. Autumn (September to October) is when they raise new queens and male hornets. This is when they are most active and get angry very easily! When it gets cold, all the hornets die except for the new queens. Only the new queens spend the winter underground.

Where Does It Live?

In Japan, you can find them in Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. They like woods and forests with lots of trees more than big cities. Other hornets build nests in trees or under house roofs. But the Asian giant hornet is special! It builds nests in holes dug by mice or snakes, or under tree roots. So when you play in the mountains or forest, watch your feet for holes where hornets fly in and out!

What Does It Eat?

Asian giant hornets are hunters that love meat. But adults and babies eat different things!

• Adult Hornet Food: Adult hornets have very thin throats. They cannot swallow meat! So they lick sweet tree sap. They also feed meat to the babies (larvae). Then, the babies give them a special juice full of energy to drink!

• Baby Hornet Food: Worker hornets catch mantises, grasshoppers, and beetles. They even attack honeybee nests and other hornet nests! They use strong jaws to crush the meat into small meat balls. Then, they bring them home to feed the babies.

How Long Does It Live?

How long they live depends on their job!

• Worker and Male Hornets: They work hard from summer to fall. They live for about 1 to 2 months. They all die before winter comes.

• Queen Hornets: New queens grow up in fall. They sleep underground through the cold winter. They wake up in spring, make a nest, and live for about 1 year until next fall.

Other Fun Facts

• Huge Size and Strong Jaws: Queens are about 4.5 centimeters long. Workers are about 3 to 4 centimeters long. They are one of the biggest hornets in the whole world! They have big, strong jaws to bite through meat.

• Strong Poison and Temper: They have a lot of strong poison. They get angry very easily and will attack with friends if you go near their nest. They like to attack black colors and things that move fast. If you see one in the mountains, do not yell or wave your hands! Walk back slowly and quietly to get away.

Let’s Color the Strong Face and Back

The face of the Asian giant hornet looks super cool and powerful!

• The Face: Try coloring the whole face in bright orange or golden yellow. Color the three tiny eyes on its forehead and the big eyes on the sides with dark brown or black. If you make the tips of its strong jaws a little dark, it will look even stronger!

• The Back (Thorax): The back part where the wings grow is mostly black. But instead of making it just plain black, try adding a little bit of gray or light blue-purple where the light hits the bumpy parts. That will make it look like a real shiny, hard insect body!

Stripes That Warn of Danger

When you think of hornets, you think of cool yellow and black warning stripes!

• Base Color: For the stripes on the belly, use a yellow mixed with a little orange instead of plain yellow. It will look just like a real Asian giant hornet!

• Make the Stripes Pop: Color the black stripes with a nice deep black to make a clear line between the yellow and black. If you make the colors darker toward the tip of the tail (where the stinger is), it will look 3D and super cool!

Real-Looking Wings and Legs

If you color the small details carefully, your picture will look amazing!

• The Wings: A hornet's wings are see-through! So don't press too hard. Gently color them with light brown or a warm amber color. Trace the lines on the wings with a slightly darker brown to make them look thin and pretty.

• The Legs: The legs are black or dark brown. But if you change the colors a little bit around the joints and spikes or add careful shadows, they will look like powerful legs that can grab prey tightly!

The Biggest Hornet in the World!

The Asian giant hornet is the biggest hornet not just in Japan, but in the whole wide world! Queen hornets can grow bigger than 5 centimeters. When they spread their wings and buzz through the air, they look super cool and powerful!

They Make Nests Underground?!

When you think of a hornet nest, you might picture a round ball hanging under a roof or from a tree branch. But the Asian giant hornet often makes its big nest in hidden spots that are hard to see from the outside, like under the dirt or inside holes at the bottom of trees.

The Unbeatable Hunter of the Bug World

They have strong jaws and powerful stingers with venom. They can catch praying mantises, big caterpillars, and even other kinds of hornets and honeybees! In Japanese nature, they are famous as the strongest hunters around.

A Click-Clack Danger Signal

If you get too close to an Asian giant hornet nest by mistake, a hornet might fly in the air and make a "click-clack!" sound. They make this sound by snapping their big jaws together. It is a super scary warning that says, "If you come any closer, I will sting you!"

The Secret to Their Power Is a Present From Babies

Grown-up hornets cannot eat hard meat. So, they chew up the bugs they catch into little meatballs and feed them to their babies. In return, the babies give the adults a special liquid full of healthy nutrients. This gives the adult hornets all the power they need to zoom around!