I'm very curious as to whether bees learn these skills via breeding or if bees can learn from each other.
I'm not calling anyone out I just thought I should say this. The name murder hornets was created by the media and they do not pose a threat. Sure they could kill you if you got stung many times or were allergic, but so could any other bee or wasp. They could harm bees and beekeepers as they are hornets and can kill bees. Realistically you will never see one even if you are in the PNW. Now if you do come across one contact your local fish and wildlife department. Try to get a photo so they can identify it, but don't put your self in harms way. I also don't recommend try to kill or capture it as provoking it will make you more likely to be stung. Lastly please refrain from calling them murder hornets as it perpetuates the misinformation, instead call them by there proper name.
(Or maybe I can preemptively answer them first!)
In 2017 I was living in Japan and used to get out and hike a lot. I took some friends on a favorite river trail hike that I had done lots of times. We were about an hour into the hike and entering a dense forest section when suddenly a massive insect landed on my hand and latched on. I distinctly remember the head of the insect was near the soft area between my thumb and index finger, but I could feel how the back legs stretched much of the way up my index finger.
I distinctly remember thinking βdonβt panic, just brush it off fastβ and also βomg I donβt even want to lookβ. I started flapping my arms thinking it would dislodge and I would run for it, and that it would be angry. Well, it didnβt dislodge, I could feel it grip tighter, itβs wings began to buzz and itβs huge legs scrabbled against my palm. Retrospectively I wonder if I should have grabbed and squeezed it, but that went against every instinct in my body.
Probably less than a second after I started flailing my arm, I was stung. I was yelling at that point (ha) and said something like βoh my god Iβve been shot!β It was extremely painful, more like a stab than a sting, and apparently the venom makes the pain even worse. At that point the hornet let go and buzzed off almost lazily while I sat down and cradled my hand.
I had been stung on the side of my right index finger, roughly an inch up from the bottom joint. Within a minute I could feel burning up and down my hand and even down my forearm, and not long after that I had noticeable swelling. Iβm not allergic to bees but I told my friends to keep watching me as we hiked backβI felt well enough to do that, just a bit dizzy. They put some ointment on the sting and I wedges my arm in my shirt like a sling because moving was painful. The pain, swelling and throbbing in my arm lasted about a week. I moved away not long after, but Iβve been warned to bring an EpiPen the next time I hike in an area with giant hornets because apparently a second dose of that venom can bring on some very nasty effects.
Still have questions? Ask me anything!
I've seen reports of the infestation of the Hornet and the massacred honey bee colonies, but I've yet to see anyone discuss how this happened or what it could mean for North America if it's not contained.
So there isn't any feasible way the hornets, especially any pregnant queens, could have traveled all the way across the pacific and to the Pacific Northwest by themselves. Some person had to bring them to the mainland. Could have been the same agents that caused the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Whatever deepnstate agents that let loose the virus could have been contacted by their leaders and told "hey Btw on your way back stateside, can you grab one of those Asian Killer Hornet queens and drop if off somewhere near a Washington Beehive?" obviously that's making light of the possible orders, but I'm very certain, with the events going on in the world, and that this is the literal first time United States has seen this Hornet in the wild, this was also an organized incident.
These hornets are nasty bastards. We've seen the videos or pics of them with dozens of decapitated bees surrounding them. On top of that, the honeybee species common in North America, the European honeybee, doesn't have the same evolutionary tactic as the Asian bees have of smothering the hornets and vibrating to cook them alive. This will mean untold millions of bees dead if this Hornet spreads enough to be a new invasive permanent species in North America.
Add to that, enough of these hornets can be deadly to humans. I saw the video of Coyote Peterson taking a sting from it and he said at the time it was his worst sting/bite thus far. Pain/horrible swelling for more than 24 hours on the arm he got stung in. One Sting and he almost had to go to the hospital. Imagine even 3 of those attacking one human.
This Hornet could be another factor in people deciding to stay indoors if it becomes more widespread, so there's your mental manipulation to get people to obey lockdown.
And the bee dieoffs we've been seeing in the world are still a big concern to the world population, and we've been basically fighting to stave off extinction for honeybees. We still need those honeybees to pollinate plants and crops so we at least get food that makes up for the coming meat shortage the news reports about. Much like the coronavirus pandemic encouraged lockdowns which have accelerated the downfall of the fragile dwindling economy we've had, what if this killer Hornet invasion in Washington was meant to
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