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Monstrous ‘Murder Hornets’ Are Here! 33

Monstrous 'Mmurder

Hornets' Are Here!

Native to Asia, the giant insects
rip off the heads of honeybees by
the thousands.

By Mindy Weisberger

Massive, deadly hornets affectionately known as
"murder hornets" "hornets from hell" and "yak-
killer hornets," have been spotted in the U.S. for
the first time.

These Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia)
are the size of your thumb; they're orange-
headed and orange-striped; and they're
extremely pointy at the back end. The hornets,
which were detected in Washington state, prey
on bees and are known for ripping the heads off
honeybees by the thousands, The New York
Times reported on May 2. Enormous curved
stingers and powerful venom make the hornets at Tamagawa University near Tokyo, told the hornets are especially aggressive and may
uniquely dangerous to humans, and their stings National Geographic in 2002. attack animals and humans that are unfortunate
are responsible for as many as 50 deaths in enough to wander too close to the occupied
Japan each year, mostly due to allergic reactions These so-called killer hornets made headlines beehive, WSU says.
to the venom, according to the Times. worldwide in 2013, when a series of attacks in
China injured hundreds of people and killed 28, "Hot defensive bee balls"
V. mandarinia is native to forests and low- mostly in Shaanxi province.
altitude mountains in eastern and southeastern European honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica)
Asia, but troubling evidence suggests that the However, not all people shy away from the are powerless against giant hornet attacks, but
hornet is beginning to make some headway in hornets. In some Japanese mountain villages, the Japanese honeybees (Apis cerana japonica) have
North America. Now entomologists are racing hornets are considered a delicacy when deep evolved a unique defense against the marauding
against the clock to learn how widespread the fried, according to the BBC. hornets. They form "hot defensive bee balls,"
invaders are in the U.S., and to isolate and swarming individual hornets and vibrating their
destroy invasive populations before the hornets Hunt, slaughter, occupy flight muscles to generate heat. Inside the ball,
become so numerous that they settle in for good, temperatures build to 116 degrees Fahrenheit
the Times reported.The Washington State European honeybees have the most to fear from (47 degrees Celsius), cooking the trapped
Department of Agriculture (WSDA) verified this deadly predator. V. mandarinia are social hornets to death.
two sightings of Asian giant hornets in early hornets, and they are the only known wasp
December 2019, Washington State University species to coordinate attacks on bee colonies, Japanese honeybees are the only bee species
(WSU) Insider reported on April 6. WSDA which they carry out with deadly precision. with special brain cells that allow them to
received two more accounts describing the collectively thermoregulate just enough heat to
invasive insects, but those remain unconfirmed. Attacks on beehives happen in three phases, kill the hornets without hurting themselves.
No one knows how the hornets arrived in the ADW says. First, the hornets hunt individual
U.S., but they may have been introduced as bees from a hive that has been chemically Giant hornets from Asia made their first forays
other types of invasive insects have: They were marked by one of their sisters. The hornets rip into North America in Canada, with sightings of
deliberately released, or transported here as the bees to pieces, carrying the dismembered three V. mandarinia hornets reported on British
unseen stowaways in international cargo, WSU bits back to their own hive and feeding them to Columbia's Vancouver Island in mid-August
representatives said in a statement. hornet larvae. 2019, according to British Columbia's Ministry
of Agriculture. The agency issued a pest alert for
Hornets are large members of the wasp family, Asian giant hornets, the world's biggest hornet, the invasive hornets in September 2019,
and Asian giant hornets are the biggest hornets attack and destroy honey bee hives, killing tens warning that more hornets might be seen in the
in the world, according to Animal Diversity Web of thousands of bees in just a few hours. (Image spring when queens emerge from hibernation
(ADW), a database maintained by the credit: Courtesy of WSDA) and establish their annual nests.
University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology.
Queens can grow to be 2 inches (5 centimeters) Next is the slaughter phase, when dozens of Springtime is also when Asian giant hornets are
in length, with a wingspan of more than 3 inches hornets attack the hive and massacre tens of likely to become active in Washington State,
(8 cm), while female workers and males are thousands of bees. entomologists told WSU Insider.
somewhat smaller, with body lengths of about 1
to 1.5 inches (3.5 to 3.9 cm). "Within a few hours, a strong, healthy and Conditions in the Pacific Northwest are just
populous honey bee colony of 30,000 to 50,000 right for Asian giant hornets, according to a fact
Only the females of the species have stingers, workers is slaughtered by a group of 15 to 30 sheet issued by WSU. Should the Asian giant
which can measure up to 0.2 inches (6 hornets," according to a WSU fact sheet. hornet become established in the U.S., its impact
millimeters) long; the stingers can be used on native bee populations would be "severe
repeatedly; and they deliver a toxin that is Finally, the hornets move into the defeated hive. enough to cause significant disruptions," WSU
"considerably venomous," ADW says. The pain They chew up the abandoned bee larvae and associate professor Timothy Lawrence said in a
from their sting is considerable, "like a hot nail pupae into a bee-brood paste, which the hornets statement. []
through my leg," Masato Ono, an entomologist also feed to their own young. During this stage,