The Asian giant hornet has killed 42 people and injured at least 1,600 since July, striking fear across central China, according to NBC News. The species of hornet is the largest in the world and has a reputation as a relentless hunter that stalks its prey—-normally honeybees-—in coordinated attacks. However, the neurotoxin in the hornet stingers can cause organ failure, anaphylactic shock, renal failure and in some cases, the ability to dissolve human tissue. The unseasonably warm and dry weather in the region this fall and human encroachment into hornet breeding grounds have been cited as possible reasons for the recent attacks. Provincial officials say extermination teams have destroyed more than 4,500 nests across the region. Since the efforts to get rid of the nests, local health officials report that attacks have dropped.
