http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2119343/King-Wasps-Indonesia-Two-half-inch-monster-jaws-longer-legs.html#ixzz1q1TW6Hv8

Im sure some of you guys will appreciate this lil fella 

It will be interesting to see if this is a relic of a past era or a sign of things to come 

(note to US readers: the daily mail is jam packed with sensationalist stories and ill formed hateful opinions, read further at your peril )

Saw an article a few days ago on my twitter saying it was an old species.  see if I can find it.  but that is an intimidadating wasp 

You were warned vesp, the scary stuff is in the comments !

Have to laugh at the toxicology description of the asian hornet where the dose "can be lethal to people who are not allergic if the dose is sufficient". Take that paracelsus

(Toady - I didn't want to hijack the lab accidents thread but any chance on a grow report for the Yopo trees? We share a climate so I would be interested to see how they go. Most seeds in these parts would be non viable)

I found them pretty tolerant, the seeds need scarifying, or the hard endosperm taking off with a sharp knife, I germinated them on wet bog paper then planted them after they sprouted. Seemed to work quite well using ordinary compost. They grow quite fast, and look somewhat like a mimosa. Not quite, but similar. Feathery leaves and somewhat scaly bark. Expect a growth rate of maybe 2 feet or so in the first year. Perhaps more. I recommend keeping them indoors, I did and they did quite well.

A for asian hornet venom, true, the poison is in the dose, as they say, but they can deliver a lot of it, and the LD:50 values for mandaratoxin don't put it at the most toxic of hymenopteran toxins, but its still pretty potent.

here's a bit more about that jumbo japanese wasp     http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/japanese/hornet.html