Murder Hornets Invade Washington State
Murder hornets. The name itself implies the danger associated with these insects. So when murder hornets were first discovered in Washington state, panic erupted in key cities where the murder hornets had chosen to invade. The bee population was in grave danger upon the arrival of murder hornets and this issue required immediate extermination of these insects before new hornets were bred. Farmers were also reasonably impacted by murder hornets because they heavily depend on bees for pollination of their crops. Unfortunately, with restrictions presented by COVID-19, it was difficult for teams of beekeepers and entomologists to gather and destroy murder hornet nests. Nevertheless, the Washington State Department of Agriculture managed to track down hornet nests and is well into the process of exterminating murder hornets from the state.
What Are Murder Hornets?
Murder hornets are large hornets that are native to Asia and are primarily known for their ruthless decimation of the honeybee population. While it is unclear how murder hornets arrived in North America, they likely arrived in Washington state from British Columbia, which is where the first few cases of murder hornets in North America were found. The presence of murder hornets in Washington presents a severe threat to the bee population. Murder hornets mercilessly massacre beehives and are about four times the size of a regular honeybee. Due to their significantly larger size, murder hornets easily decapitate honeybees’ heads and feast on the thoraxes of the bees. Then, the murder hornets collect the remaining bee thoraxes and feed them to their fellow colony members and young. This pushed beekeepers in Washington to go to extra measures in order to create additional protection for their honeybees.
Threat To Humans
While murder hornets present a slightly less intimidating threat to humans, they still have the ability to sting us. When murder hornets inject their stingers into flesh, they release a potent venom that delivers excruciating pain to the victim. Some people who have endured murder hornet stings describe it as “red hot metal searing through the skin.” Murder hornets possess stingers that are as long as ¼ inch and are known to be both extremely aggressive and easily provoked. As long as an allergic reaction does not take place, a sting from a murder hornet is not known to kill a human, although it will result in major swelling and potential bleeding. However, researchers have proven that multiple murder hornet stings can potentially kill a human. As far as entomologists are currently aware, no one in Washington has been stung by a murder hornet yet. A few murder hornet nests in Washington have been found near children’s playgrounds and other public places. The sting of a murder hornet is significantly more painful than that of a bee, but studies have shown that, on average, more people die from bee stings than murder hornet stings.
Murder Hornets in Washington
In December of 2019, a lone murder hornet was first detected on a highway in Blaine, Washington. While this was the first sign of the potential growing invasion of the insects, little action was taken to curtail the breeding of murder hornets. By May of 2020, it was evident that at least one queen murder hornet was present in Washington and was breeding more of her kind. The compulsory need to eradicate murder hornets drove beekeepers and entomologists to exterminate these voracious insects as soon as possible.
The first step taken towards exterminating murder hornets was to set up a series of traps, in hopes of capturing them. Two weeks ago, entomologists managed to secure radio trackers on three hornets that had been caught in the traps. These small tracking devices were carefully secured to the backs of the insects using dental floss. The tracking devices on the hornets allowed entomologists to locate one murder hornet nest and destroy it as soon as they could. The approach of wintertime also happens to be the time of year when the queen hornets emerge from their nests. This presented a challenge to the team of entomologists attempting to diminish the murder hornet population in Washington. If the queen hornets managed to escape, there would be an increased likelihood that they would start new colonies and breed more murder hornets. In a hasty attempt to demolish hornet nests before the queen hornets escaped and founded new colonies, a small team of beekeepers and entomologists donned beekeeper suits and cautiously approached a murder hornet nest. Although they were successful in eradicating the nest, they learned that the large stinger of a murder hornet could easily puncture a beekeeping suit and ended up with swollen thighs and welts on their arms.
Last week, a team of beekeepers and entomologists located a murder hornet nest in a tree in Spokane, Washington. They purchased thicker suits off of Amazon and wore more protective gear before setting out to demolish the nest. The team stuffed foam and cellophane tape into most of the openings of the hornet nest, ensuring that there was only one opening for the hornets to escape from. Then, they inserted a vacuum hose into the remaining opening and sucked up the hornets as they frantically exited their nest. The team later pumped carbon dioxide into the nest to kill any hornets that might have remained in the nest. This entire process took 4 hours.
While this process is tedious, it is certainly the most effective, as the Washington State Department of Agriculture continues to set up traps in Whatcom County in the hopes of eradicating the last few murder hornet colonies. For those living in areas affected by the murder hornets, be aware that as long as murder hornets are not provoked, they are unlikely to sting humans, and the eradication of murder hornets is being done to protect the bee population and those impacted by bees, such as farmers. Hopefully, with all the diligent work being done by beekeepers and entomologists, the end is near for the remaining murder hornets in Washington.
