Asian Giant Hornet discovered in Washington State
#1
Posted 02 May 2020 - 07:40 PM
BLAINE, Wash. — In his decades of beekeeping, Ted McFall had never seen anything like it.
As he pulled his truck up to check on a group of hives near Custer, Wash., in November, he could spot from the window a mess of bee carcasses on the ground. As he looked closer, he saw a pile of dead members of the colony in front of a hive and more carnage inside — thousands and thousands of bees with their heads torn from their bodies and no sign of a culprit.
“I couldn’t wrap my head around what could have done that,” Mr. McFall said.
Only later did he come to suspect that the killer was what some researchers simply call the “murder hornet.”
With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can 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. For larger targets, the hornet’s potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin.
In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year. Now, for the first time, they have arrived in the United States.
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
#2
Posted 02 May 2020 - 08:29 PM
#3
Posted 02 May 2020 - 10:04 PM
There was a large nest of them that was destroyed in Nanaimo last year as well.
#4
Posted 04 May 2020 - 07:32 AM
It's weird that the national media is only picking up on this now. This hit the local news back in the fall. IIRC, a couple were found in White Rock and Blaine back in November.
#5
Posted 05 August 2020 - 05:28 AM
is it just me or do lots of insects seem particularly attracted to coins?
maybe if we moved more to paper money and credit and debit cards we'd see less of these pests? i rarely see them photographed alongside paper money.
https://www.timescol...-set-1.24181143
or maybe we should wash or sanitize our pocket change more often?
in this case above, does the murder hornet mistakenly think it's attacking a moose? attacks on the queen's image seem to be almost equal. maybe these insect are anti-monarchy?
if that is the case - moderators let me know if we should move to discussion to the "ending the royal family" thread.
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 August 2020 - 05:32 AM.
#6
Posted 05 August 2020 - 06:04 AM
is it just me or do lots of insects seem particularly attracted to coins?
maybe if we moved more to paper money and credit and debit cards we'd see less of these pests? i rarely see them photographed alongside paper money.
https://www.timescol...-set-1.24181143
or maybe we should wash or sanitize our pocket change more often?
in this case above, does the murder hornet mistakenly think it's attacking a moose? attacks on the queen's image seem to be almost equal. maybe these insect are anti-monarchy?
if that is the case - moderators let me know if we should move to discussion to the "ending the royal family" thread.
[attachment=27616:screenshot-www.timescolonist.com-2020.08.05-10_03_48.png]
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 August 2020 - 06:05 AM.
#7
Posted 05 August 2020 - 08:07 AM
In that Times Colonist story the woman living on Palmer Rd didn't take a picture. I don't believe her story. That hornet is huge and she tried to step on it. These are scary looking and she would be running away.
I will call the Times Colonist tomorrow and say I saw a Sasquatch in my backyard. I'm sure it was a Sasquatch, it was furry and was stealing the nuts from my walnut tree.
- todd likes this
#8
Posted 05 August 2020 - 08:24 AM
I will call the Times Colonist tomorrow and say I saw a Sasquatch in my backyard. I'm sure it was a Sasquatch, it was furry and was stealing the nuts from my walnut tree.
Sorry about that.
#9
Posted 09 August 2020 - 05:19 AM
why don't we feed murder hornets ice cubes (that we would normally be feeding to our dogs)?
B.C. bugs are getting a bad rap thanks to the murder hornet.
https://www.timescol...rnet-1.24183397
#10
Posted 09 August 2020 - 10:37 AM
I got stung by a bald faced hornet as a kid. As far as I'm concerned, all these things need to be exterminated once and for all
- North Shore, Nostalgic Victoria and Victoria Watcher like this
Victoria current weather by neighbourhood: Victoria school-based weather station network
Victoria webcams: Big Wave Dave Webcams
#11
Posted 08 September 2020 - 11:49 PM
So, where are the massive amounts of dead people in the Pacific Northwest?
Or is this going to be memory holed as if no one made a fuss about it?
- Matt R. and Victoria Watcher like this
#12
Posted 26 October 2020 - 04:33 AM
Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.
The state Agriculture Department had spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops.
The nest found in the city of Blaine near the Canadian border is about the size of a basketball and contained an estimated 100 to 200 hornets, according to scientists who announced the find Friday.
https://globalnews.c...-washington-bc/
The nest was found after the state Agriculture Department trapped some hornets this week and used dental floss to attach radio trackers to some of them.
some "murder" hornets. they just used a vacuum to get them.
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 October 2020 - 04:34 AM.
#13
Posted 04 November 2020 - 08:38 PM
#14
Posted 05 November 2020 - 08:41 AM
So, where are the massive amounts of dead people in the Pacific Northwest?
Or is this going to be memory holed as if no one made a fuss about it?
Piled up next to all of the Covid-19 victims, no doubt. #MurderHornetInvasion-20 is definitely as deserving of a knee-jerk large-scale lockdown of the general population though.
#15
Posted 11 November 2020 - 06:08 PM
When scientists in Washington state destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets found in the U.S., close to the border with British Columbia, they discovered about 500 live specimens in various stages of development.
Among them were nearly 200 queens that had the potential to start their own nests, said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist leading the fight to kill the hornets.
"We got there just in the nick of time," he said.
Still, that didn't end the threat from the giant insects that can deliver painful though rarely deadly stings to people and wipe out entire hives of honey bees.
https://www.cbc.ca/n...ueens-1.5798631
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 November 2020 - 06:08 PM.
#16
Posted 11 November 2020 - 10:23 PM
It'll be touch-and-go for the next few seasons to see if we can eradicate those pests from North America..
#17
Posted 16 March 2021 - 01:51 PM
they must have a new PR firm. "murder" does not appear in this article.
B.C., Washington state work together to kill Asian giant hornets
A hornet surveillance program in B.C. will set up traps in areas where there were previous findings
https://www.vicnews....-giant-hornets/
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 March 2021 - 01:51 PM.
#18
Posted 19 March 2021 - 04:48 PM
they must have a new PR firm. "murder" does not appear in this article.
B.C., Washington state work together to kill Asian giant hornets
A hornet surveillance program in B.C. will set up traps in areas where there were previous findings
https://www.vicnews....-giant-hornets/
Geez Louise it’s called a Vespa mandarinia.
- Matt R. likes this
#19
Posted 03 April 2021 - 05:57 AM
https://www.vicnews....r-island-coast/
[attachment=30130:screenshot-www.vicnews.com-2021.04.03-09_54_31.png]
#20
Posted 06 April 2021 - 03:45 PM
will they eat the Vespa mandarinia?
Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users