Nearly 20 Hornets Were Hiding Inside This Nest. Not One Could Sting.

A yellow-vented hornet's nest is one of the most dangerous things you can come across — every branch we cut sent the whole colony into a rage. I remove these nests and feed the brood to my chicks. But when we finally opened this one up, deep inside the comb was something that never should have survived the raid: nearly twenty hornets that had been hiding there the whole time. We peeled back the outer wall to reveal three round tiers of comb, packed with larvae and pupae. Between the tiers, four or five hornets sat completely still — then a few more, further in. By the time we reached the center, nearly 20 hornets had been hiding inside, through every branch we cut and every attack that followed. Look closely and you'll see why: long, curled antennae, and no stinger at all. These weren't workers. They're males — the only hornets in the nest that never fight, never guard, and never had to. Among them was one hornet almost twice their size: the queen herself, also among those who'd stayed hidden. We fed the larvae and pupae to my chicks, who dug in right away. But when we offered them the males, they hesitated. No stinger, nothing to fear — and still, they weren't so sure. ⚠️ Hornet nests are extremely dangerous. This removal is done with a proper hornet suit and years of experience. Please never attempt it yourself. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 A nest under attack — and a secret inside 0:46 What is a yellow-vented hornet? 3:58 Cutting the nest free 5:32 Inside: three tiers, and hornets that never fought 7:28 Feeding time In a nest under attack, the ones who did all the fighting were the workers. The ones who survived were the queen — and the males who never had to fight at all. In a honeybee hive, the males have a name for this: drones. Hornets don't really have one of their own. No sting, no job, and — it turns out — not even a name. What would you call them? Let me know in the comments. 🔎 A note on the species: this is the yellow-vented hornet (Vespa analis) — not the Asian giant hornet. In Japanese, its name literally means "small hornet," though it's still a good 2.5 cm long. They're often described as calm-tempered, and mostly are — but they're extremely sensitive to vibration, and that's usually what turns a calm nest into a dangerous one. 🐝 About this channel I film the world of Japanese honeybees (Apis cerana japonica), hornets, and the small creatures of the Japanese countryside, up close and in their natural setting. #hornet #wasp #yellowventedhornet #beekeeping #wildlife #insects #chickens #nature #queenbee