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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

US and Canada gear up for another Asian 'murder hornet' season:

The Asian giant hornet – officially called Vespa mandarinia, the species is native to East Asia – first prompted concern in the US and Canada in 2019, when the first specimens were reported in both countries.

[...] The Asian giant hornet typically measures an inch-and-a-half in length and it is distinguished by a large head that is a mix of yellow and orange. US authorities said its sting is much more dangerous than that of bees or wasps and can cause "severe pain, swelling, necrosis and, in rare cases, even death" in some humans.

They can pose a risk to livestock and other insects, as well as honeybees, which are already facing dwindling numbers and for which the hornets "have a voracious appetite", according to Washington state authorities. "A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honeybee hive in a matter of hours," the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) said.

That is why experts have said it is important for the invasive species, which is not native to North America, to be eradicated.

[...] Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist at WSDA, said in a news briefing last month that more than 1,200 people across Washington state hung homemade traps last year as part of the state's efforts to track the Asian giant hornets.

This year, Spichiger said the WSDA hopes to have one trap for every square kilometre in its target areas – or approximately 1,500 traps total. People can use a mixture of orange juice and rice wine, or another mixture of water and brown sugar, as bait, he added – and they are most likely to trap a hornet beginning in July.

"To me, hanging a trap actually protects you. It lets you know that there's something in the area and it contains it in such a way that you can then call [the authorities] and we can do something about it," Spichiger told reporters last month."To me, hanging a trap actually protects you. It lets you know that there's something in the area and it contains it in such a way that you can then call [the authorities] and we can do something about it," Spichiger told reporters last month.

What can be dangerous, he said, is not knowing the hornets are around and inadvertently getting too close. "You get your lawnmower maybe a little too close and you're overwhelmed before you even know what's happening, that's to me what the real danger is."

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