Giant Asian Hornets aka "Murder Hornets" Now in North America

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

https://www.businessinsider.com/dont-have-to-worry-about-us-murder-hornet-invasion-experts-2020-5

snip

Research co-authored by Allan Smith-Pardo, a biological scientist with the AHPIS, pointed out that the species has been intercepted at US ports of entry within the last decade. According to the research, which has been accepted for publication and was seen in advance by Business Insider, there have been close to 50 interceptions of hornets and yellow jackets at US ports of entry between 2010 and 2018.

The research paper noted that an entire nest of live Asian giant hornets that was sent via express courier from Asia was intercepted at a port of entry, though the research did not specify when the incident happened.

....

Carpenter said he was not aware of any cases of Asian giant hornet sightings beyond the most recent sighting in Blaine, Washington, last year. He said that as part of his research, he has found that Asian giant hornets, along with other invasive species, have been spotted in other parts of the world, but, in most cases, "they have not become established."

It seems manageable for now.

 

[Jezza819]

Apparently Praying Mantis like to snack on these things:

[Warning] Contains brutal bug on bug violence

Your reputation as a "Murder Hornet" takes a hit when something else is eating your head off.

 

[McLaren]

Apparently Praying Mantis like to snack on these things:

[Warning] Contains brutal bug on bug violence

Mantis will attack anything. Big bastards will attack birds if the chance arises.

 

[Outspacer]

... an entire nest of live Asian giant hornets that was sent via express courier from Asia ...

Really Vladimir, you shouldn't have!

 

[Joey D]

The Giant Asian Hornets are resurfacing now that the weather is getting better and they're starting to spread further than the area they were initially discovered in:

The Asian Giant Hornet Resurfaces in the Pacific Northwest

I don't know if the NYT is a paywall or not, but some of the important bits are:

• On the U.S. side of the border, state entomologists received a report this week of a dead hornet on a roadway near Custer, Wash. (Blaine is about 8 miles from Custer)
• Paul van Westendorp, a provincial apiculturist for British Columbia, confirmed that one of the large hornets had been discovered in the city of Langley this month. The specimen, collected after a woman killed an unusual-looking insect at her home, was found about eight miles north of where two other hornets were discovered last year near Blaine, Wash.