OMG! ASIAN HORNET! - Stop freaking out!

Yes, the Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax), an invasive species that arrived in France in 2004 and has spread to all the neighbouring countries ever since. They are about an inch long (2.5 cm), mostly black with an orange band in the abdomen, a yellow face, black thorax and legs black on half top, yellow on half bottom. You read a lot about this species, mostly that it's a deadly, agressive, vicious, evil hornet with flesh-dissolving venom that'll kill you, your children, your pets and wipe out whole colonies of honeybees. All that is false. They will defend their nest but they're not the monsters every tabloid wants you to believe. So while they're indeed a concern for ecosystems and beekeepers, they're not more agressive than our European hornets, honeybees or social wasps. So stop panicking, take a deep breath, watch them, photograph them and report them to the authorities so we can better understand them and manage their impact on our native species. This hornet was collected near Brussels, Belgium and given to me to photograph for the production of educational material. It has since been euthanised and will be added to the ULB insect collection for research and education purposes.