Pond frog vs. murder hornet

Without hesitation, pond frogs will devour the world’s largest hornet, Vespa mandarinia. The so-called murder hornet has venom that can kill mice with a single sting, but these frogs were totally unfazed by multiple stings in experiments by Shinji Sugiara:

“Many hornets were observed stinging the faces, eyes, tongues, palates, or throats of the frogs during attacks but were eventually swallowed,” Sugiara noted. “Hornet stings neither killed nor caused injury to any of the frogs.”

In the video you can see the hornet’s stinger pushing through the frog’s jaw from the inside. These frogs must have physiological mechanisms that not only detoxify hornet venom but also block pain signals — useful powers for a generalist predator.

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