This year has been a tough one for many families, especially for those with kids who were abruptly taken out of school.
A saving grace has been children being able to play outside in (mostly) nice weather.
But a new pest from -that’s right, you guessed it- Asia is bringing a new level of terror to the United States.
The Asian giant hornet, vespa mandarinia, is a two-inch long killing machine that is feasting on our already low bee population.
Bees are a crucial part of nature; they pollinate plants which is necessary for the production of fruits, nuts, flowers, and vegetables.
The bees are important and all, but are the “murder hornets”, as they have become known as, an immediate threat?
Yes!
In addition to their delicate diet, they are also able to kill humans!
According to the New York Times, 50 people a year die in Japan from these monsters.
Our nation has never seen a winged predator quite like this before, with the New York Times revealing how the murder hornets “use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young.”
Sounds like something out of a horror movie, and that’s not even the worst of it.
The stinger is so tough that it is able to pierce a beekeeper’s suit. So basically, there is no protection if these winged giants want to get to you.
The hornets have reached Canada as well, where one entomologist experienced the devastation of their stinger when he was pierced through a beekeeper suit and a pair of sweatpants.
Conrad Bérubé said, “It was like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh,” reports Scary Mommy, adding how the next day he felt like he had the flu.
The hornets were first spotted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture in December, but reports they are “most destructive in the late summer and early fall, when they are on the hunt for sources of protein to raise next year’s queens.”
Multiple stings are able to kill a human with a potent neurotoxin they emit through their “big and painful” stinger, WSU’s Insider reports.
Now is the window to try and exterminate them before their populations grow beyond control, the experts warn.
Efforts have been made to find their hives and destroy them, but with their ability to nest underground and a queen bee’s ability to travel up to 20 miles per hour, the hunt is far from easy.
Chris Looney of the state Department of Agriculture says, “Don’t try to take them out yourself if you see them. If you get into them, run away, then call us!”
This shouldn’t be hard seeming no mom wants to face off with a 2-inch insect that can do more danger than a toddler tantrum.
I guess this makes 2020 a year to reckon with.
Just keep an eye out for large winged insects in the yard (as if you weren’t already doing that), and warn your kids not to touch or taunt hornets if they see them- because that would be the first thing my son would do.