Asian giant hornets (known as ‘murder hornets’) have shown up in the US for the first time, giving Americans a “refreshing” change of pace and something else to worry about other than the deadly Covid-19 pandemic
In any other year, reports of murder hornets being in the US for the first time ever might instill some fear in people, but with the news dropping in the midst of a pandemic that has crippled the economy and left people under strict lockdown orders, it appears to have been greeted mostly with humor.
‘Murder hornets’, a name coined by researchers, popped up for the first time in the US in December when four sightings were verified by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), according to a report from the New York Times.
Asian giant hornets are the largest hornet species in the world. They destroy honeybee hives by killing the bees and using them to feed their young. According to the WSDA, it only takes a few hornets to decimate a honeybee hive in a matter of hours.
The worry now is these hornets could spread in the US and have a serious effect on the bee population, which in turn negatively impacts the many crops that need bees for pollination.
The WSDA has started an “aggressive trapping program” to stop the spread of the hornets and, hopefully, another potential crisis.
How have people responded to the news? Battleworn from Covid-19, the potential for a crisis with ‘murder hornets’ has been taken surprisingly well.
“Instead of ‘murder hornets’ i propose we call them ‘nice hornets’ and see if it improves their attitude,” one Twitter user wrote.
“We’re kind of busy at the moment. Please read the room,” another person said.
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