Then there's the question of what impact this chain reaction might have on crops, as honeybees are major pollinators of plants that produce fruits, vegetables, and nuts. That's because having never encountered the invader, European and American honeybees haven't evolved a successful strategy of staving them off, unlike the Japanese honeybee. They have orange and black stripes, a wingspan rivaling a young dragonfly, dark brownish-black eyes, and body armor that make them impervious to stinging by their prey, who end up suffering a grisly fate. Two inches long, these giants are the world's largest hornets. The culprit, entomologists suspected, was the Asian giant hornet, which is known for ripping the heads off upwards of 40 honeybees per minute in its native habitat and stealing away with the juicy middle, their thoraxes, to feed its hungry queens and larvae. The species is native to China, the Russian Far East, and Southeast Asia, of which a subspecies in Japan, the Japanese Asian Hornet, is equally as dangerous.Īccording to The New York Times, Ted McFall, a beekeeper in Blaine, Washington, first reported something bizarre occurring with his honeybee colony when thousands of his bees turned up dead, their heads decapitated and many of their bodies missing. "They're like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face," Susan Cobey, a bee breeder at the Washington State University's department of entomology, told CNN. (In severe cases, more than one sting has been known to trigger organ failure.) And last but not least, its stinger and venom are supposedly so painful that it's been compared to being branded by a hot poker. Second, the Asian giant hornet threatens American honeybee populations, which have no defense against the carnivore. For starters, it sounds like something straight out of a '70s monster movie - just see, for instance, the nickname researchers have given it: the "murder hornet." shores after being spotted in the Pacific Northwest.Īnd if you ask beekeepers and scientists, this insect predator is an invasive species that's certainly garnered much interest. Talk about a hive of horrors!Īs if people don't have enough to worry about already with the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, the Asian giant hornet has officially arrived on U.S. "There's nothing Delaware beekeepers should be worried about at this point.It's got a body the size and thickness of an adult thumb, mandibles that'll pierce flesh, and a stinger that can inflict some serious harm. But, oh, we got a hornet, we've got to sensationalize it." "If we really want to label an animal 'murder,' let's call the house cat a 'murder cat,' because it kills two to three billion birds a year," Tallamy said.
The professor also took issue with labeling the insect as a "murder hornet." You would have to be very unlucky, in other words," Tallamy said. You would have to stumble across a colony accidently. "The chances of being stung are very slim. While the "murder hornet" has been known to be harmful to humans, Tallamy said such an encounter would be extremely rare even in vicinities where they have turned up. University of Delaware Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology Doug Tallamy said the giant Asian hornet was expected to be rather easily located and eradicated.
Those eggs will hatch and they'll feed on the developing larvae. "The might will get inside the cell of a developing bee and lay eggs. "They'll feed on the bee, and they'll feed even more importantly on the developing larvae," Hossler said. Of more concern to Hossler is the threat posed to the honeybee population by parasites, such as the Varroa Mite.Ĭredit Kathy Hossler Photo courtesy of Kathy Hossler She's been able to learn about that from a safe distance - the "murder hornet" has turned up in small numbers so far in Washington State and in western Canada. Kathy Hossler of Smyrna, who keeps bees in her yard and is President of the Delaware Beekeepers Association, said she was already aware of the giant hornet's murderous reputation. The Murder Hornet has also been known to decimate honeybee hive populations by lopping off their heads.ĭelaware beekeepers, however, do not need to be overly concerned. It has a name right out of Hollywood, and in this year of the pandemic the Giant Asian Hornet has gained the nickname of the "Murder Hornet." Its size has been compared to a credit card, your thumb, or the palm of your hand. What threat might they pose to Delaware’s growing beekeeper population and their prized hives?ĭelaware Public Media’s Mark Fowser has more in this week’s Enlighten Me as reports that a couple of the so-called ‘murder hornets’ - capable of wiping out and entire bee hive - were found dead in Pacific Northwest. Recently, Asian giant hornets have quickly gained fame, or infamy, in the U.S.