Asian Giant Hornet Invasion Threatens Honey Bees in Pacific Northwest

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Asian Giant Hornet Invasion Threatens Honey Bees in Pacific Northwest



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An expert said of the hornets: “They are sworn enemies of honey bees. I would say a bee’s worst nightmare.”
The Asian giant hornet has appeared for the first time in Washington State.
The Asian giant hornet has appeared for the first time in Washington State.Credit...Nobuo Matsumura/Alamy
Neil Vigdor

By Neil Vigdor

Dec. 24, 2019, 5:00 a.m. ET

As if honey bees didn’t have enough to contend with, from pesticides to bacterial pathogens, another nemesis has emerged in the Pacific Northwest, one capable of freaking out humans, too.

It’s called the Asian giant hornet — and is also known as the yak-killer hornet, the commander wasp in Korea and the tiger head bee in Taiwan, according to experts.

As the names indicate, the hornets are indigenous to Asia, but some appeared for the first time this month in Washington State, where agricultural officials have issued a pest alert and warned that the hornets pose a threat to honeybees.

They showed up in British Columbia in August, prompting a similar advisory from the Canadian province’s agriculture ministry.

The reputation of the mammoth hornets — which are distinguished by their yellow heads and can be nearly two inches long with a wingspan of up to three inches — precedes them. ......................

[Recursion]

1. What ever happened to the "deadly Africanized killer bees"?

Weren't they supposed to destroy civilization 30 years ago?

[Javaman]

2. have you seen who our president is?

[NewJeffCT]

3. these things are nasty

I read about them several years back - one sting alone can cause excruciating pain, and more than 1 or 2 likely requires hospitalization.

And, a handful of them can destroy a nest of honeybees in minutes - the stings and bites of the honey bees are far too weak to cause any damage.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. There are YouTube videos whoing how bee farmers keep larger predator bees, hornets, wasps away.