Tag: BEES!!!!

Hey, here’s some good news from 2020:

It doesn’t look like the state of Washington is going to buckle at the hands of an infestation of Asian giant hornets — or “Murder Hornets,” as they’ve been so eloquently dubbed. At least, that’s the early indication.

Earlier in the month, The New York Times reported that for the first time the Asian giant hornet had been discovered in the U.S. near the border town of Blaine, Wash., and there was a separate nest in British Columbia.

Understandably, the name “Murder Hornet” and their sting, which is capable of killing a human if the person is stung multiple times, had the public concerned.

Nobody wanted to run into a 2-inch-long hornet with a stinger that can penetrate beekeepers suits. But still, the primary concern was with the North American honeybee population as Asian giant hornets attack and kill entire bee hives to feast on larva. While Japanese honeybees developed a defense mechanism, the North American bees would be especially vulnerable.

Yet, despite traps placed across the Pacific Northwest and beekeepers on high alert, there hasn’t been a new sighting of the hornets in 2020, according to Karla Salp of the Washington Department of Agriculture. The nest in British Columbia had also been eradicated. The traps can be seen below.

Beekeepers will remain on the lookout as the weather gets warmer in Washington, but thus far, the lack of sightings has been encouraging.

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Saturday’s report from The New York Times that the Asian giant hornet — known to many as the “Murder Hornet” — made its way to North America for the first time understandably had plenty of people on edge. It’s the kind of twisted subplot we should expect from 2020.

The hornets were found in parts of Washington and British Columbia, Canada, and if they spread, the insects pose a huge threat to the North American honeybee population. The Murder Hornets attack honeybee hives, killing every bee just to feast on their larva.

These Murder Hornets are also huge and pack an extremely painful sting that can be lethal to humans (if the person gets stung multiple times).

As word of these Murder Hornets’ arrival to North America made rounds on the internet, some users uncovered a photo gallery from 2011 that put to scale just how big the queen Murder Hornets can be. (Note: Click on the photo for the full flickr gallery).

Those stingers … Uh, yeah, Murder Hornets can stay away. Thanks.

It’s important to remember that the queen Murder Hornets are about twice the size of male and worker hornets, but either way, the sizes of these insects are intimidating.

Since the hornets were discovered in Washington, entomologists have worked to eradicate these hornets from North America to protect the honeybee population. The Japanese honeybees have developed a defense mechanism to “cook” attacking Murder Hornets by swarming the intruder. But North American honeybees don’t have this ability and would be especially vulnerable.

Also, nobody wants to see those hornets once we’re all allowed to go back outside. That would just be another reason to extend the quarantine.

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Over the weekend, 2020 managed to get even worse as a year when The New York Times reported that Asian giant hornets — or “Murder Hornets” — had been discovered in North America for the first time.

This development was unwelcome news for obvious reasons: Nobody wants to encounter a three-inch hornet with a stinger that can penetrate beekeeper suits. Plus, a sting from a “Murder Hornet” can kill a human if that person takes multiple stings. But even one sting — as we saw from YouTuber Coyote Peterson — looks extremely unpleasant.

It’s a whole lot of NOPE from our perspective.

But when it comes to the already-dwindling honeybee population, the arrival of Murder Hornets to North America is a huge concern as these hornets attack and kill entire hives to feast on larva. In Japan, at least, the honeybees do have a defense against Murder Hornets where they lure in a scout hornet, swarm the insect and create enough energy to “cook” the intruder.

A video of this defense was particularly satisfying to watch. Go bees!

The way Japanese bees deal with murder hornets is just brutal but satisfying. pic.twitter.com/8zjUloVzPY

— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) May 5, 2020

While Japanese honeybees have developed this defense mechanism against Murder Hornets, the honeybees in North America have not and would be especially vulnerable if these hornets spread across the continent.

University of Arizona associate entomology professor Katy Prudic explained in a recent newsletter:

Japanese honeybees have evolved an ambush defense against these hornets. When a hornet scout finds a honeybee hive, the honeybees lure her in, then collectively pounce on the hornet, beating their wings as much as they can. This flurry attack raises the temperature around the hornet, eventually killing her and a few of the honeybees closest to her. The hive will remain undiscovered to the hornet colony and live to see another day.

This adaptation is not seen in European honeybees, which are common domesticated pollinators used in our agriculture systems. So, if this hornet becomes a pest, we might have to figure out a way to get them to behave more like a Japanese honeybee through some sort of genetic modification.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

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