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'Murder hornet' trapped for the first time in Washington State:
Washington State has trapped its first Asian giant hornet, also known as a "murder hornet."
The insect, believed to be a worker hornet, was found in a Washington State Department of Agriculture trap near Birch Bay in Whatcom County on July 14, officials said Friday. It's the first giant hornet to be detected in a trap, rather than in the environment.
[...] "This is encouraging because it means we know that the traps work," Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist for the state department, said. "But it also means we have work to do."
[...] The insects can grow to at least 3.5 centimetres [~1.4 inches] in length, with a wingspan up to twice as long. They are the largest species of hornet in the world.
Along with their size, Asian giant hornets are also known to prey on honeybees and destroy their hives, leading to their "murder hornet" nickname, though they've also been linked to a few dozen human deaths each year.
The Department of Agriculture hopes to trap and tag the hornets and then follow them back to their nests which they would then destroy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2020, @01:40PM (4 children)
there are ofc gazillion versions but where i live i have hornets that size.
i got "stung" or more like impaled twice. tho it hurts and there's swelling over a few days the difference to a bee sting is the size of the intrusion.
with bee stings there is normally no blood but with such big hornets the stinger is bigger also and in my case, both times, there was blood drop at site where i got stung ...
i think one sting won't kill you but one needs to watch out for multiple stings.
where i live there's lots of air-borne insects so if a "flying shadow" appears i normally don't pay much attention...
in both cases i was lucky not to be "swarmed" but maybe that was because in the first case i took to running away and in the second case swatting it instantly like a mosquito.
i am guessing resolutely murdering the hornet after it stung didn't leave it enough time to call for backup ^_^
(Score: 4, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 02 2020, @03:37PM (1 child)
A lot of wasps and hornets release a pheromone when they die. You don't really want to be killing the damned things, unless you are geared up to deal with the entire nest. YMMV of course - if you're some distance from the nest, you're probably safe. Closer to the nest, you don't want to initiate the attack!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Sunday August 02 2020, @05:00PM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by Frosty Piss on Sunday August 02 2020, @06:27PM (1 child)
You have TWO INCH LONG hornets where you live? Where is this? I’ll avoid it...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @03:46AM
Different AC, but over here in the Midwest we have big blue hornets (mud daubers?) That are at least two inches long and really aggressive. When I was young, one of them stung my dad in his neck and sent him to the ER.