An impending invasion of ‘murder hornets’ on the East Coast? Not quite, experts say
The arrival of Asian giant hornets in the U.S. set off a social media firestorm about the end of the world, started in part by its theatrical nickname: “murder hornet.”
It started with a pandemic in March, then aliens in April and killer bugs by May — no matter if they were actually found in December, as the Washington State Department of Agriculture points out.
It’s the apocalypse, predicted by The Simpsons in 1993.
Entomologists, however, are less certain. One researcher with the Tufts Pollinator Initiative would also like everyone to “stop calling it the ‘murder hornet.’”
“To be clear, the ‘murder hornet,’ actually known as the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), does not pose a direct threat to humans,” Rachael Bonoan wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “Stinging is a form of protection, and like any stinging insect, the Asian giant hornet is not out to sting you.”
The “first-ever sighting in the United States” of an Asian giant hornet occurred in Washington in December, shortly after Canada discovered them in two locations in British Columbia, according to WSDA.
But it wasn’t until The New York Times reported the discovery May 2 that “murder hornets” really took off.
The insects get their nickname from particularly violent killing methods in which “group attacks can expose victims to doses of toxic venom equivalent to that of a venomous snake,” a Japanese researcher told the Times.
“Murder hornets” are unlikely to go after people or pets, WSDA cautioned, but evidence of their carnage does include piles of headless dead bees — their preferred victim.
In Washington state, one of the Asian giant hornets had already died when it was discovered. The other flew off into the forest, but a scientist at the University of California, Riverside, said it’s unlikely the insect survived.
Even so, entomologists say the chances of them showing up on the East Coast are pretty slim.
“We have received many calls today about the Asian giant hornet, referred to in media coverage as the ‘Murder Hornet,’” Maryland’s Department of Agriculture said in a tweet. “This insect was found in Washington state in late 2019. We continue to monitor, though it is highly unlikely that the hornet is present in Maryland.”
Whitney Swink, a regulatory entomologist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, told WXII “we would know by now” if the Asian giant hornet had reached the state.
The state agency is encouraging residents “to be vigilant and report potential sightings of the pest,” but said Asian giant hornets are likely to be confused with Cicada killers and European hornets — which are native to North Carolina.
Several residents in Virginia sent pictures of what they thought were “murder hornets” to ABC 13, but an entomologist at Virginia Tech said they were actually European hornets.
Researchers at the Clemson Cooperative Extension said they’ve gotten similar claims “for years” from homeowners thinking an Asian giant hornet had nested on their property.
“They have not,” Eric P. Benson, a professor of entomology at Clemson, wrote in a blog post for the university.
He compared the “murder hornet” phenomenon to that of “killer bees” in the 1980s, when slightly more aggressive Africanized honey bees arrived in Texas and people thought they’d swarm southern states, “wiping out beekeeping as we know it.”
They didn’t, Benson said.
So what does the scant arrival of Asian giant hornets in Washington and Canada mean for the Palmetto State?
“No more concern than you may have about Africanized honey bees,” Benson said. “You shouldn’t worry about seeing Asian giant hornets in South Carolina anytime soon.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 7:37 PM with the headline "An impending invasion of ‘murder hornets’ on the East Coast? Not quite, experts say."
