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The Asian Murder Hornet has Arrived in the U.S.

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Okay, just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, the New York Times is reporting on the debut of  a deadly insect dubbed the ‘Asian murder hornet’ in the United States.   It’s 2 to 3 times bigger than some other hornets and the honeybee in the cover photo.

The hornets are triple threat, not only because of their extremely painful sting, their menacing look and because they pose a threat to the already declining honeybee population in the US.

According to the Times:

“Scientists have since embarked on a full-scale hunt for the hornets, worried that the invaders could decimate bee populations in the United States and establish such a deep presence that all hope for eradication could be lost.”

Twitter user @ciara_wardlow has had a first-hand encounter with the deadly bug:

 “Don’t think the “murder hornets” article mentions it but the reason Japanese honeybees haven’t all been killed by Asian giant hornets is that when a hornet appears they’ll swarm and suffocate the hornet to death in a giant “bee ball.” American bees haven’t evolved this strategy.

 Read more in the New York Times.


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