As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough. Now there are so-called “murder hornets.”
North American sightings of the Asian giant hornet, which attack and slaughter honeybees, have so far been in Washington state and in Canada.
The sightings were reported late last year near Blaine, Wash. and Bellingham, Wash., according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Canada also discovered Asian giant hornets in two locations in British Columbia in the fall of 2019.
“They’re like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face,” Susan Cobey, bee breeder with Washington State University’s Department of Entomology, told WSU Insider.
WSU Insider reported that the life cycle of “murder hornets” begins in April, when queens emerge from hibernation, feed on plant sap and fruit, and look for an underground den to build their nests. Once established, the colonies grow and send out workers to find food and prey.
The hornets are not known to regularly attack people or pets, but they kill honeybees by decapitating them. A few of these hornets can destroy a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, WSDA said. They’ll leave piles of dead bees outside their hives.
“It’s a health hazard, and more importantly, a significant predator of honey bees,” Todd Murray, WSU Extension entomologist and invasive species specialist, told WSU Insider.
That’s not to say the hornets won’t attack people or pets when threatened.
Conrad Bérubé, a beekeeper and entomologist in British Columbia, Canada, was stung by “murder hornets” when he went to exterminate a hive on Vancouver Island.
“It was like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh,” Bérubé told The New York Times.
The stinger of the Asian giant hornet is longer than that of a honeybee and the venom is more toxic than any local bee or wasp, WSDA said. They can also sting repeatedly.
In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year, the New York Times reported.
Bérubé ended up getting stung at least seven times, some of the stings drawing blood. He told The New York Times that out of the thousands of times he has been stung in his lifetime of work, the stings of the “murder hornets” were the most painful.
WSDA has advised people “use extreme caution near Asian giant hornets” as typical beekeeping protective clothing won’t protect from their stings. People who find colonies are asked not to remove or eradicate them. Those allergic to bee or wasp stings shouldn’t approach the hornets or hives.
Here is what to look for in identifying a “murder hornet,” according to WSDA:
• Usually 1.5 – 2 inches in length
• Large orange/yellow head with prominent eyes
• Black and yellow striped abdomen
• Forms large colonies that usually nest in the ground
Madasyn Lee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Madasyn at 724-226-4702, mlee@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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