China – Hornets in Shaanxi Province

At least 19 people have been stung to death by hornets in China’s central Shaanxi province in the last three months, according to the city government of Ankang, the apparent epicenter of a recent spate of fatalities and injuries. A total of 583 people in the area have been stung by hornets since July 1 with seventy victims still recovering in hospitals. The Asian killer hornet are formidable, carnivorous killers, according to the non-profit Honeybee Conservancy. The hornet’s venom sting is a neurotoxin so powerful that it dissolves human tissue, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.