News Animals

These hornets may be the alcohol-detox champs of the animal world

Vespa orientalis fed an 80-percent-ethanol brew still did hornet tasks and had normal life spans

A brown and yellow hornet sits on tree bark.

Workers of this hornet species proved extraordinary in their ability to consume 80 percent alcohol but still build nests competently.

Stephen Dalton/Science Source

By Susan Milius

Don’t get into a drinking contest with Vespa orientalis hornets. They could out-booze a tree shrew, even a fruit fly. Mere humans wouldn’t stand a chance.

These hornets can survive weeks of binging on sugared liquid that’s 80 percent ethanol, researchers report October 21 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.