Asian giant hornet invasion becomes latest 2020 concern
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 4 years ago • 124 commentsBy: Doha Madani (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
An invasion of Asian giant hornets became the latest 2020 worry — and internet sensation — as the term "murder hornet" began to trend over the weekend.
The first spotting of the 2-inch Asian giant hornet, or vespa mandarinia, was verified in the United States in December, according to the Washington state Agriculture Department. The insect does not generally target people or pets, but it is a deadly threat to at-risk honeybee hives.
Giant hornets of this species apparently enter a "slaughter phase" during which they decapitate honeybees and destroy entire hives in the span of a few hours, according to the department.
Asian giant hornet is the world's largest species of hornet.Washington State Department of Agriculture
Although the species was first spotted months ago, the term "murder hornet" circulated on Twitter over the weekend after a New York Times report Saturday on efforts to stop the species from annihilating honeybees.
As the globe reels with the upheaval of normal life during the coronavirus pandemic, the internet latched onto "murder hornets" as yet another strange development of 2020.
"Murder hornets. Sure thing, 2020," actor and comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted Saturday. "Give us everything. Hypno-frogs. Fecal blizzards. Toilet tsunamis. A CATS sequel. We can take it."
Murder hornets. Sure thing, 2020. Give us everything. Hypno-frogs. Fecal blizzards. Toilet tsunamis. A CATS sequel. We can take it. https://t.co/DSDpgKhKzQ — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 2, 2020
Guys, this Jumanji game is already going so badly. Someone please roll a 6. https://t.co/MT4Id5Zf6P — Benjamin Siemon (@BenjaminJS) May 2, 2020
Could whoever is in charge of the simulation stop letting your little brother press all the buttons https://t.co/Hqp3ZyYcr7 — Kat Dennings (@OfficialKat) May 3, 2020
An invasion could have severely negative impacts on the environment and public health, the Washington Agriculture Department warned.
The species has longer stingers with more toxic venom that could pose a danger to people if the insects feel threatened. And unlike honeybees, the Asian giant hornets can sting repeatedly, entomologist Chris Looney said in a video posted to the department's YouTube page last month.
Authorities are working to find nests and destroy them before they can reproduce, according to Looney.
Looney warned people against trying to kill the hornets themselves and to avoid their nests entirely. Instead, the public is encouraged to report a possible sighting to local authorities.
Doha Madani
Doha Madani is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
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What will the next plague be? Darkness?
I've suggested this before, and I'm suggesting it again...
I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me slaughtering their lambs....
One should be enough, and think of all the great meals - lamb chops, leg of lamb, etc.
I'll give those to Mr Giggles since I don't like lamb. Haven't been able to eat it since I raised a couple of lambs for a 4-H project and then sold them for butchering.
Oh! It's my favourite meat. Of course I never raised a lamb so I don't get emotional about eating it, especially if I never knew it before it was butchered.
We kept one of the lambs for ourselves. We had 3, one for me, one for my brother and one for the house.
After we slaughtered and butchered the 3rd one, my mom made lamb chops one night for dinner. Mom, me, and my brother couldn't eat them because we were the ones who took care of them and unfortunately got attached. Dad had no problem, tho
I can eat anything I have had as a pet, so I hear ya on that one.
It's mine too, Buzz. But then I never raised one (nor do I want to, cause then I won't be able to eat it.)
You know that is how Paul and Linda McCartney became vegetarians. They were eating store bought lamb, when a pet lamb came to the window on their farm.
That wouldn't have turned me into a vegetarian, but I would have probably stopped eating lamb.
I also raised pigs as 4-H projects. I never got attached to them...probably because I like bacon and ham too much.
I don't like the taste of lamb, no matter how it is prepared. Goat I can eat and enjoy, especially, Cabrito, roasted goat Mexican style. The best I have ever eaten was in Reynosa and Matamoros Mexico. I tried it in Tijuana and it was nowhere near a good as Reynosa and Matamoros.
I just don't like the flavor of lamb. Just a bit too bland for my taste.
Can't say I've had it a lot but the 3 or 4 times I have(Afghanistan) I found it to be somewhat dry, not bad but a little dry. Might have been a regional preparation thing.
What I had in Reynosa and Matasmoros was flayed and stretched out on a spit and then roasted over charcoal. The meat was well marinated, then oiled and rubbed with spices, then well roasted. The meat was not dry at all, but, that could be due to the marinating and oiling.
I think that I had in Tijuana was just rubbed with spices and roasted, as it was a bit dry. The marinating and oiling really made the spices blend together well compared to just rubbing them on the dry meat before roasting.
It could be the difference was in regard to the differences in regional tastes and cooking preferences. Same as people cooking BBQ in different areas of the country. KC BBQ compared to East Texas and California style cooking.
My Father was a great cook, and he wanted to fix some Cabrito himself. He used a well seasoned and delicious vinegar based BBQ sauce he was gifted by the owner of a little hole in the wall BBQ cafe that my Father frequented on his police beat. Man....it was really different from the Cabrito in Reynosa and Matamoros, but, was also really delicious.
Thanks to 20 years of military service that included survival training in multiple climates and terrain, I can honestly say I've eaten things that most folks cannot imagine or want to tolerate. It is amazing what one is willing to eat when faced with starvation.
Did you ever eat a rabbit's eyeball? A dude I dated in Alaska went out on winter survival training and when he got back he told me all about it.
Never a rabbit's eyeball, but I did try a goat one.
Did it fly across your mouth? Was it hard to bite down on?
Nah. Once boiled it was more like a chewy grape.
yum
Ever had lamb fries?
No because I'm pretty sure they're testicles. ewwww......
LOL!
How many plates of those things did he wind up eating before he realized what they were?
I love that movie
They looked delicious!
I loved that movie too.
I loved the scenes when he got a dog(s).
I hear Guinea Pig is a favorite down in South America......
Yep to all.... Warner Springs.... April, 1982.
I think you meant to say can't.
Gotta love them rocky mountain oysters!
I did SERE training at Pickle Meadows, CA in 1975. Also did Jungle Survival Training at Cubi Point in the Philippines in 1985. Man them little Negrito tribesmen they had as instructors there were some very tough hombres pound for pound.
You thinking of them giant rodents called Capybaras? They are related to guinea pigs and are hunted for their meat and pelts throughout much of South America. Them critters weigh over 100 lbs!
Good one, Buzz!
We might have to fight fire with fire. The Japanese Honey Bee has a way to cook the Asian Hornets!
foxnews.com/science/japanese-honeybees-learned-how-to-cook-murder-hornet-report
So all we have to do now is replace our native Bee population with the Japanese species.
Wouldn't it have been so much easier to have supported Chiang Kai Shek way back when?
America provided the Flying Tigers during WW2 (in fact they were based where I live - Chongqing). The Flying Tigers also had Chinese pilots - I met one at the Flying Tigers Museum who used to fly cargo planes "over the hump" to Burma. That's a poster of him and his family from back then. The museum had been General Stilwell's home.
Buzz, can you interpret this:
Lol, No, It's a thank you to the Americans who flew those planes:
"The Chinese characters read, "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue and protect him." (R. E. Baldwin Collection)
Noi, but I'm glad you did.
A note to Kavika: I'm wearing my everyday, and favourite, jacket, that I still wear - the one that you've seen the "Street Help" symbol that is on the back. The emblem on the front shows the bird, and the letters, "NaMeRes" which stands for Native Men's Residence, the place where I volunteered in Toronto, where my ex and I donated most of our furniture and furnishings that she did not need, or what we gave to our kids, when we sold our home and I moved to China. I came to China with only what I wore, could stuff in 2 suitcases, and some money.
Vic,
The only problem is we don't know how aggressive those bees are. We already have an issue with a very aggressive bee from South America.
This is my personal nightmare. I deadly allergic to insect bites. I walk around with an EpiPen.
No, we don't. What we do know is that our native Bee's will be destroyed rather quickly by yet another invasive species. Do you really want to wait for another crisis?
I am not allergic to bees, but, I sure would not want to be stung by one of those killer hornets. A regular hornet is bad enough, been stung by one of those several years ago and was sick for almost a week!
Glad I live in a arid hot dry desert climate in SE Arizona where them critters won't tolerate. We have the aggressive Africanized Honey Bees here and they are bad enough at times.
There is a lot to be said for the south west!
Yep.
Their stingers are long enough to penetrate a beekeeper's suit.
And I think they're almost big enough to carry off my dog.
Murder hornets. Haven't we had enough?
I'm going straight to hell for laughing at that, aren't I? Did you read any of the Twitter feed that accompanied the article? Also quite a hoot. Feeling the flames already, I am.
I could definitely do without fecal tornadoes
If you're going to hell, I'm going with you, because I meant it as a joke. Mostly.
I didn't read the Twitter feed, but my Facebook friends are having a blast with this.
Hey, I need to see that.
I think I shared one. I'll see about sharing some of the funnier ones.
And it's only May 2020, mf
LMAO!!
Hey, just think of the fun to come.... next
I actually like frogs and toads. They eat bugs. Ever see a toad catch a flying insect? It's cool but it happens fast
Same here. I have a couple of lizards that live by my patio. They eat the ants that wander up around the patio and help keep my area bug free. I named them Rupert and Tilly. They are mates, and they had some babies not long ago. Little baby lizards all around the place. One came inside under the door and Yoda found it. She played with it for a bit and then went to take a nap. I had to catch the little rascal and put it back outside for its anxious Mother pacing back and forth across the screen.
Now the babies are all grown up and also live here. They all know me and I talk to them when I see them. They don't run when I go in and out the door, they just go about their business of hunting for bugs.
Aww....that's cute that they don't run from you.
We have what are called skinks but I call them lizards. They hide in the rocks in our flower beds and under the deck. They will run all over the sidewalk and decks when there are no cats around
Not sure what Rupert and Tilly were, but, they looked like lizards. They didn't get all that big as adults, and their babies were really very tiny. I had to watch where I stepped after they started roaming around, I was afraid I would step on one of them and not know it. So I didn't take anything on the patio for granted and checked everything out to be sure what it was. I hated to leave them when I moved to No Virginia, but, I told the new residents about them and they said they would take are of them, as they were not bothered by them and liked the idea that they helped keep the insects down.
According to a story I read yesterday they're actually long enough to penetrate a beekeeper suit over a pair of sweat pants over a pair of shorts.
I wonder how they made it over here?
No idea how they got here. Apparently, they nest underground. At first, I thought maybe they'd been imported by accident in some lumber, but I don't see how that could be.
That's a reasonable assumption
Possibly. Depending on the country of origin of the container and the contents some containers are required to be fumigated.
One of the products that required fumigation is wood products. Some types were fumigated held for 48 hours than fumigated again.
Some required fumigation then unloaded for inspection to check for anything that survived.
We used to fumigate around 50 containers a week at one of our facilities.
Back in the day, we'd unload banana boats where the bananas were loaded in the hold of a vessel. Open up all the deck hatches put a conveyor belt from the deck to the hold, boot down, and start throwing stalk of bananas on the belt to take them topside.
We'd have to wear gloves that looked and acted like a welders glove all the way up to your elbow. They protected you from the banana spiders that would be hiding in the stalks of bananas. By the end of the shift, your arms felt like they were ten feet long. Stalks of bananas are damn heavy.
Ah, the good old days on the docks. That was almost as good as loading dry hides.
I saw a couple of snakes when unloading the bananas, they were not poisonous. I never saw any snake that was poisonous. Although I heard the story many times, I think that is was the old urban waterfront myth.
The problem is even if it's contents get fumigated the insects are living in the structure of the container which is outside the weather tight cargo space so they aren't fumigated at all. They build their nests in that square tubing that makes up the base and frame of the shipping containers.
I loved working and living at the waterfront. Fresh fish in San Pedro coming right off the fishing boats. Great restaurants and made a damn good living as a longie.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were the busiest ports in American and one of the busiest in the world. Actually the ports of LA and LB are one continuous port, it's a political divide, not a physical one.
Some of the individual wharfs for an single container line were bigger than some ports in the US.
Yeah, the twist locks can hold wasps, bees and assorted critters...LOL
Another place that you could find nests was between the tandems on the chassis. I found that out the hard way...LOL
I had a wasp nest inside the side mirror on my Tahoe.
I was trying to get the axles slid all the way back on a 20'. tri-axle to move a very heavy load. The damn things were frozen so under I went with a crowbar and that's when I found the wasp nest..I didn't realize I could move that fast.
LOL, damn things can get in anywhere.
My guess it that they stowed away in a shipping container.
Wasps and yellowjackets love heat and they want a dry place to build their nests so any car, truck, trailer, or shed is prime nesting ground if it's not used regularly. I battle yellowjackets every year in my sheds, they're metal and metal seems more attractive to them than wood that's why they love junk cars. After years of experience if I need to pop the hood or work around a car that's been sitting I just assume there will be nests under the hood or in the fenders.
Hornets build nests in my grill every year without fail.
Regular bees don't really bother me.
Hornets, wasps though, scare the living daylights out of me.
I used to smoke on my deck and in the summer time, if there were hornets or wasps around, I could see me literally going over the side of my balcony 3 stories down to get away from one. They scare me that much.
I swell like a balloon when I get stung, and itch for weeks. So I wouldn't say I'm scared, but I definitely do what I can to avoid that experience. Wouldn't jump off a balcony, though. I AM scared of heights.
I tend to exaggerate just a tad . . . but they still do scare the living daylights out of me! At any height!
I'm the opposite. once I know a nest is there I have to poke it with a stick and scrape it down. After I poke it I run but I go back I can't help myself, I have to battle them and I'll keep going back till they abandon that nesting area. The biggest problem is it wastes a lot of time when I'm supposed to be doing something else but I get sidetracked and I can't stop till they're gone or dead.
Hello, Little Brother!
My brother couldn't leave a bee's or wasps' nest alone, either. One time I was standing next to him when he was torturing the wasp.
You're quite brave when it comes to this.
I like to give them a wide berth . . .
I have funny story about a bee's nest. When I was about ten I was over a family friends house and they had a 15 year old son Gary. So Gary invited me to go fishing and on the way we walked through a meadow and there was a bunch of bees swarming over a hive in the ground. Well there was a 5 gallon bucket on the ground and Gary dared me to place it over the hive hole so I did it and the bees didn't bother me so then we went fishing. About four hours later we were coming back from fishing and we entered the meadow and Gary says "I Dare you to Kick that bucket". Well I was ten and wild so I didn't even think twice or reply I just took off running and kicked that bucket as hard as I could and I just kept running all the way back to Gary's house. The good news is I didn't even get stung once but I guess Gary wasn't ready when I ran to kick the bucket because he was forty feet behind me running and screaming the whole way as he got stung over and over like 50 times. He said the bucket must have been half full of bees when I kicked it because they formed a cloud of bees but I never saw any of it because I was running as fast as I could and never looked back.
The ones in my grill get roasted as a warning to their friends. The ones who nest elsewhere get sprayed.
Worked in the oil fields of Arkansas one summer. I had never seen a wasp nest the size of a small trashcan lid before.
Three of us, cool early morning, can of wasp spray in each hand fought and won. No injuries reported by the good guys!
YAY!!!!!
I was sitting on my front porch one afternoon, minding my own business and this wasp lands on my knee and stings me! I was pissed. Then I think I ended its worthless life
ROFL!!!!!!!!!!
My husband raised bees and told me to run in a zig zag pattern if I ever found myself being chased by a swarm.
Good to know. I never believed I got away without being stung because I was so fast, I was just lucky to have someone a little slower behind me and I don't think the bees knew the difference.
So did my Dad, it doesn't work.
It worked for me once.
Lol, then I musta done it wrong. No biggie while a little bit of an ouchie no other harm came from it.
Certainly, we have had enough epidemics and natural disasters, but, humans must continue to interact with nature in a positive manner with science, and an educated understanding of the balance of nature.
We cannot continue to exploit, or, allow the exploitation of our planet for solely MONETARY GAINS for a few!
We are a part of Nature, not above or below it. It is our task to find the BALANCE.
We've already had a problem with honeybee hive collapse disorder or whatever it's called, we definitely don't need some hornet decapitating the gentle honeybees. I hope Washington State is on the job
Oh god here we go again. Better shutdown the whole economy in case 1 person dies by bee sting. 🙄
When they get to 75,000 dead in ~60 days. Then it will be a problem.
Trump is preparing a statement about how the Chinese government deliberately sent them here (so he will increasing tariffs even more...).
Would those tariffs include the crap him and his family peddle?
You must buy it all! Every available roll!
I totally get the TP buying craze during the COVID pandemic... I mean, no one wants to die with a dirty ass.
Give it a week or two, some televangelist will proclaim it's part of the end times prophecy and rake in a few million. Just like the flat earth folks spreading their propaganda and lies to make a buck through merchandising. The up side is if there is a food shortage, these look just big enough to pan fry with a touch of olive oil and sea salt. Also on the upside, I have absolute proof that the Earth is round, if it wasn't, cats would have pushed all the shit off the edge a long time ago.