July 21, 2024 – Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia) are considered a serious danger in the United States. At 1.75” in length with a .25” stinger and a 3” wingspan, they’re well known for killing people in their native Asian environment, and unlike our European honeybees, they can sting repeatedly.
After being found in the northwestern coastal area (fortunately, only a few nests), people became concerned as to how long it would take for them to get to our area. Rumors even began about them having been seen in Oklahoma. So far, all such Oklahoma and Texas sightings have proven to be either the eastern or western cicada killer wasps; a large wasp, but not Asian hornets (AH).
When AH find a honeybee hive, they secret an aroma that attracts other AH. The group of as many as 50 then attack the hive and can wipe it out in less than two hours. They take as many bodies as they can carry back to their nest to feed their youngsters.
Support for eradicating AH has been very aggressive. All sightings are immediately tracked down and the nest eliminated. Eradication has been so successful that since November 2022, there have been no confirmed sightings.
One serious danger to our honeybee population, is they have no defense against AH. In Asia, their honeybees work together to trick, trap, and kill AH before they can signal fellow AH. If this doesn’t work, they can no notice abandon their hives to get away.
One preventive measure is to install a narrow opening to our honeybee hives that are two small for AH to get through. Another is using glue sheets that trap a single hornet which signal others who get stuck and signal others…..
For now, AH are not here now and probably won’t be in the future.
