Due to the recent media firestorm about “murder hornets,” I would like to clarify some known facts about this insect.
The Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, hunts honeybees, wasps and mantids. It is a well-known pest throughout Asia. In all countries where it is found, remedial measures to control its predation on honeybees are in place. It is similar to our native bald-faced hornet, which also kills honeybees, but it is much larger, and just a few of them can quickly exterminate an entire bee colony.
In Asia, a small number of people die each year from the painful sting of this hornet, usually due to anaphylactic shock. Similarly in the U.S., dozens of people die annually from other hornet, wasp and bee stings. Generally, Asian giant hornets are not a threat to humans, because the nests sites are underground in forested areas. There is no evidence that they mob humans as do Africanized bees found in the southern U.S. Further, it is unknown whether this species can survive in the Pacific Northwest; its normal range is subtropical with hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters.
We do not want to alarm people needlessly, but rather, to alert the public to the possibility of the hornet’s presence. People should be on the lookout right now for the queens, which can be 2½ inches long (workers, nearly 2 inches), with a stout, yellow-black striped body and a bright yellow face. In contrast, local yellow jackets, paper wasps and bald-faced hornets are just a half-to-three-quarter-inch long. Native bumble bees are quite distinct, with a typically round, “fuzzy” body. If you are fairly sure you’ve seen an Asian giant hornet, please phone the Washington State Department of Agriculture to report it.
Richard Thomas
Port Townsend
