Everything About the ‘Murder Hornets’ That Have Suddenly Appeared in the US


Advertisements
 

We must have done something to piss Mother Nature off recently.

First, she created a virus that spreads faster than a rumour on WhatsApp and is more deadly than the flu.

That alone has us locked in our houses, afraid to go out, but now Mother Nature has given Americans another reason to never leave their homes:

Murder Hornets.

Reader: Is that a band?

No, dear reader, it’s much, much worse.

Everything About the ‘Murder Hornets’ That Have Suddenly Appeared in the US

Hundreds of Asian giant hornets have turned up in Washington state, sending shivers up the spines of people who live there.

Called “murder hornets”, the Vespa mandarinia can grow as large as 6.35cm in length and is native to South-east Asia, China and Taiwan.

Not exactly the friendliest face – Image: YouTube

*shivers*

I don’t know about you, but when a species has the word “murder” in front of it, I’d generally want to stay as far away from them as possible.

But they have this name for a reason.

According to The New York Times, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year in Japan.

Due to their size, murder hornets can deliver larger doses of venom.

Image: Reuters

And the stinging itself isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

The hornets have a long stinger which is sharp enough to penetrate a beekeeping suit. And people who have been stung by these murderous monsters say the combination of the sting and venom feels like a hot metal is piercing their skin.

Image: Giphy

“The venom itself is fairly toxic and creates localised necrosis around the wound, so you’ll see melting flesh around the wound”, said Mr Sven-Erik Spichiger, managing entomologist at the Washington state Agriculture Department.


Advertisements
 

While most people can survive one or two stings, multiple stings could be fatal because the necrosis and the venom will actually start getting into your bloodstream and will start working on your organs, according to The Straits Times.

Image: Giphy

A Danger To Agriculture & Beekeeping Industry

Aside from providing humans with torturous pain, the murder hornet also presents a danger to agriculture and the beekeeping industry, Mr Spichiger said.

This is because murder hornets are known to attack honey bees, and a few of them can wipe out an entire hive in hours.

Follow us on Telegram for more informative & easy-to-read articles, or download the Goody Feed app for articles you can’t find on Facebook!

And they don’t kill them with their stings, oh no, that would be too humane.

The murder hornets kill bees by decapitating them, before taking over the hive and using the eggs to feed their young, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.


Advertisements
 
Image: Giphy

I’m starting to run out of gifs to express how horrified I am right now. 

Since bees help with pollination, the decimation of bee populations could be “catastrophic” for agricultural systems in the US, Mr Spichiger said.

Scientists suspect these sociopathic insects arrived on a container ship docking at one of Washington’s ports, since the intentional transportation of the Asian giant hornet into the U.S. violates federal law.

According to The New York Times, scientists have started a full-scale hunt for the hornets, hoping to prevent the serial bee killer from establishing a deep presence in the US.

We have over three weeks of the circuit breaker to go, bubble tea shops are still closed and dining-in at coffee shops is not allowed, but we should thank our lucky stars that these small demon hornets aren’t roaming around our country.

Murder hornet: Don’t speak too soon, son.


Advertisements
 

*shivers*