ATTENTION!!! PLEASE READ!!!
There have been many articles circulating the internet on the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) that are causing panic among citizens of North America. The articles I've read are blowing this situation way out of proportion along with headlines that perpetuate fear. Here's what you need to know.....
In the fall of 2019, there were sightings of these hornets in British Columbia, Canada. Shortly after a nest was located and destroyed. Some additional sightings (not all confirmed) of individual hornets were found across the Canadian border in Washington State, USA. So far, that's all we know. This is something to keep an eye on (and believe me when I say the Washington Department of Agriculture is watching closely), but there is nothing to currently suggest there are additional colonies or that they'll be able to establish themselves in the United States or Canada.
Part of the hype from news articles, with these wasps, is their potential for harm on humans. They have a painful sting and a large venom load. Due to their ability to sting repeatedly and in numbers, they kill as many as 50 people per year in Asia. To put things into perspective, according to CDC reports, stinging insects have killed an average of 62 Americans each year between 2000 and 2017 with a low of 43 deaths in 2001 and a high of 89 in 2017. Asian Giant Hornets, just like any social wasp or bee, are most likely to sting when too close to or disturbing their nest. So, in most cases they are of no concern to the health and wellbeing of humans.
Next, there's the concern that they kill honey bees. Asian Giant Hornets, like other social wasps, hunt insects for their young (larvae). In addition to other insect prey, they are known to target honey bee colonies and will kill the bees as a food source for their larvae. The hornets will also, on occasion, take honey as a food source for the adults, but the primary reason for attacking the hive is for larval food (bees). In the United States, honey bees are basically livestock and their main purpose is to pollinate crops that are technically non-native plants that our native bees either don't pollinate or don't pollinate as effectively as honey bees....especially almonds (native to Iran). One of the concerns, in the United States, with the honey bees is the belief that they are endangered or still in decline which is not true. They were never endangered or even close. Their numbers declined some for a few years, which caused some concerns. This then got blown out of proportion by the media. Their numbers are in better shape now than they were before the reports of decline more than a decade ago.
Understand, I'm not trying to demonize honey bees in the United States. We need them for agricultural/economic reasons, but they are also, just like this hornet, a non-native, social stinging insect, in the same order of insects as this hornet. Honey bees are causing harm to our environment by causing competition for food with our native bees (some of which actually are endangered). Furthermore, honey bees are killing more humans here in the United States than the Asian Giant Hornet in it's native environment.
-There has only been one confirmed nest and a small number of confirmed sightings in the U.S. and Canada.
-Department of Agriculture in Washington (and other states) are watching this closely.
-If there are more populations, understand that they don't target humans and only sting in defense of their nest.
-Because monitoring this situation is important, please report sightings to the Department of Agriculture for your state/location. Educate yourself on how to identify this hornet and take photos, if possible. If you find a dead specimen, keep it for proper ID. Please don't kill beneficial creatures out of fear or a lack of education about this insect. There have been many false reports where people have killed and reported paper wasps, yellow jackets, cicada killers, as well as other beneficial wasp and non-wasp species believed to be the Asian Giant Hornet.
Additionally, If you want to be involved in a "Save the Bees" campaign, plant lots of native flowers/plants that support our native bees. Thanks for reading and being a part of ABG2K.
Via: All Bugs Go To Kevin
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