The Asian hornet hunts other insects to satisfy the protein requirement of its larvae. These proteins are found chiefly in the muscles. The hornets therefore dismember their prey, keeping only the thorax, which contains the flight musculature. Adults feed exclusively on the secretions of their own larvae, and once they are done raising the brood, on fruit sap. Hornet colonies grow during the spring and summer months and decline as winter approaches, with only those queens produced towards the end of the season surviving. More information on the Asian hornet can be found in the Bee Health Service fact sheets.
