This is the gruesome moment a parasite is extracted from a deadly Murder Hornet.
The footage – which has notched up over 34,000 likes on TikTok – shows a strepsiptera parasite being pulled from the back of the hornet by tweezers.
Queen bee breeder and honey exporter Jennifer Yanko, from Central Honey – Manuka Hunters in New Zealand, told CEN: “The insect in the video is an Asian Giant Hornet, commonly referred to as a ‘murder hornet’.
“The parasite is a type of strepsiptera, though I’m not sure of the specifics.”
In the footage, the parasite can first be seen emerging from the back of the hornet’s abdomen.
When it is finally pulled free, the parasitic bug is seen to be almost as large as the hornet it is living on.
Jennifer explained: “They have much the same effect on insects as a severe worm infection in humans though they’re not transferable to us.”
The parasite will eventually kill off its host but only after infecting countless other hornets by shedding its offspring while the hosts hibernate.
The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) is the world’s largest hornet.
It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East.
But there have been sightings of it in the USA and in Europe for years. It was first detected in Europe in France in 2004. It is considered an invasive species.
