COVID-19 Wasn't Enough, Poisonous Giant Hornets Are Rising In The US And Canada

2020 is getting from bad to worse to downright dreadful, from the looks of it. We¡¯ve seen how with every passing month this year has been filled with non-stop bad news.

And while COVID-19 pandemic is surely the worst of the lot, a new problem might be on the brink of surfacing, posing new challenges to human life.

Washington State University

US¡¯s Washington State and Canada has spotted ¡®murder hornets¡¯ surfacing in large numbers. In case you were wondering hornets aren¡¯t technically harmful except for their painful sting, only the ones resurging in North America aren¡¯t the normal kind.

They¡¯re Asian Giant Hornets (yeah I know the name makes everything a whole lot worse) and as their name suggests they¡¯re quite large than normal hornets. But that¡¯s not all.

The murder hornets

The murder hornets are also known for their stings -- they¡¯re venomous. The stings are in fact known to kill around 50 people every year in Japan.

And they can be truly regarded as the monsters of the bug world as these feed themselves by actually tearing apart heads off bees and actually flying their headless body to the young hornets to feed.

Washington State University

Their stings deliver potent venom that is as deadly as a venomous snake bite, but only if you¡¯re attacked by a swarm. Unlike bees, they can puncture you multiple times using stingers nearly as long as a hypodermic needle.

How did it come to the US?

What¡¯s more astonishing is that they aren¡¯t supposed to be in the US as they¡¯re mostly found in Asia. And researchers aren¡¯t able to find out why this is the case. They feel that they were transported in International cargo, either accidentally or deliberately.

Susan Cobey, a bee breeder with Washington State University¡¯s Department of Entomology, in a recent statement. ¡°They¡¯re like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face.¡±

But in case you were wondering we should be now ready with powerful bug spray to keep these hornets away, the biggest problem is for the bees. You see, Asian Giant Hornets feast on honey bees.

Todd Murray, an entomologist and invasive species specialist with the university states, ¡°It¡¯s a shockingly large hornet. It¡¯s a health hazard, and more importantly, a significant predator of honey bees.¡±

Washington State University

They feast on bees

These hornets are capable of destroying an entire beehive full of hundreds of honey bees in a matter of hours. While their population is already endangered due to several issues, the Asian Giant Hornets will only make matters worse.

Officials have teamed up to stop the hornet population from rising. Usually, around April the queen comes out of hibernation while other male hornets scout and build underground dens to nest. They¡¯re the most destructive during late summer as they desperately hunt for food to sustain food for next year¡¯s queen.

Stopping their population from rising

According to Chris Looney, an entomologist with Washington State Department of Agriculture, in a conversation with New York Times, ¡°This is our window to keep it from establishing. If we can¡¯t do it in the next couple of years, it probably can¡¯t be done.¡±

Getty Images

They¡¯ve created makeshift traps to catch these large bugs. Moreover, they¡¯re also teaming up with local beekeepers as well as scientists with WSU to keep a track on the population.

According to Murray, ¡°We need to teach people how to recognize and identify this hornet while populations are small so that we can eradicate it while we still have a chance.¡±

Is climate change to blame for this?

While there is no clear answer to their rising population in a region they¡¯re not found, is climate change responsible for this? It won¡¯t be surprising considering it has already caused several animals to change the way they function -- bears aren¡¯t hibernating, snow leopards are being spotted in human-populated areas. It won¡¯t be surprising if this really is the case. What do you feel? Tell us in the comments section below.