Covid-19 and Now Murder Hornets, Whats the Deal?

Hey all! 

 As all of you know 2020 has been a doozy, Covid19 had us quarantining, and then the Murder Hornets showed up.

What else could happen, right? Let’s not jinx it!

Another name for the Murder Hornet is the Giant Asian Hornet. The Giant Asian Hornet has claimed it’s place as a top tier predator of insects. With a body that is roughly two inches long and a large orange head with powerful mandibles, they can slice and tear through their prey very quickly. The main food source for these fierce wasps is honeybee larva.

As we know, bees are extremely important to our survival. Roughly a third of all of our fruits and vegetables result from bee pollination. Giant Asian Hornets will target hives and roughly 15 hornets can decimate a hive of tens of thousands of honeybees in the matter of an hour. The predators will use their sharp and powerful mandibles to decapitate the bees protecting the hive, they will then feast on the pupae and larvae. 

The real threats from these invasive hornets is to beekeepers and our food supply. Their sting is painful and their venom potent, but they are rarely aggressive unless they are interrupted while feeding, making them low risk to humans. 

The first sign that these hornets made it to North America was in August of 2019. They are thought to have come over in shipments from Japan in plants and pallets. There have been multiple sightings in British Colombia and Washington State.