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THE invasive species of velutina wasp, or Asian yellow-legged hornet, continues to become a growing problem in Spain. In Galicia, these predatory insects already have a greater presence than the native wasps themselves, which is causing significant health, economic and environmental problems, according to data from the Xunta de Galicia. Since 2022, figures show that this insect has multiplied by 56 per cent in 2023. Notifications and calls informing of their presence have already exceeded 43,000 to date, which is well above the 27,500 registered in 2022. Seven Students Injured And 26 Given Medical Treatment After Wasp Attack In Portuguese...

Invasive species have a notorious ability to spread rapidly through unprepared ecosystems, wreaking havoc along their way. The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), is no exception, expanding its habitat by more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) a year while preying on honeybees, hoverflies and other insects. Nearly 20 years ago, the beefy little stingers – often called 'murder hornets' – made their debut appearance in Europe, eventually jumping the channel where they were spotted on UK soil in 2016. Genetic analysis has now revealed their rapid and widespread infestation across the west was likely the result of just one wasp making...

Basketball taught Paul Silas how to be patient. As a player, he waited 10 years before winning his first championship. As a coach, he waited 15 years for a second chance at running a team. As a father, he waited 20 years before seeing his son get a chance to lead a franchise.... ...Paul Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the then-San Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans...

Murder hornets may have been eradicated from the United States as Washington recorded no sightings so far this year. Called Northern giant hornets, or Asian giant hornets, the insects are the largest species of hornet in the world. They are native to Asia, and an invasive species in the U.S. that poses a great risk to the native ecosystem. Scientists are not sure how the species entered the country, though some suspect they may have come from an illegal importation. The WSDA recorded new sightings of the insect over the next two years. But this year in Washington, there have...

First spotted in the U.S. in 2019, Asian giant hornets—you know, murder hornets—have become an ongoing problem. As if you don’t already have enough to worry about, murder hornets are now an annual problem in the U.S. The Washington State Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced that it located and eradicated the first nest of Asian giant hornets, better known by the much more catchy murder hornets, in the state this year. The nest contained some 1,500 hornets “in various stages of development,” WSDA said in a press release, and photos released by the department show many were in the...

Crews found the nest after they followed a hornet that was equipped with a tracking device. WSDA was able to net and tag three hornets between Aug. 11 – Aug. 17.

You may have heard of “murder hornets,” or Asian giant hornets, which made international headlines after a small number were spotted in the Pacific Northwest in 2019 and 2020. They are currently confined to the far northwestern corner of Washington State, in part due to a targeted campaign to find them and eradicate their nests. Even so, the discovery of these aggressive, two-inch-long insects known for decimating entire honeybee colonies led to concern throughout the United States, with many people misidentifying local wasps as murder hornets. What many people are actually seeing, according to entomologist Justin Schmidt at the University...

In this Oct. 24, 2020 file photo a Washington State Department of Agriculture worker displays an Asian giant hornet taken from a nest, in Blaine, Wash. Scientists have found a dead Asian giant hornet north of Seattle, the first so-called murder hornet found in the state this year, federal and state investigators said Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson,File) In this Oct. 24, 2020 file photo a Washington State Department of Agriculture worker displays an Asian giant hornet taken from a nest, in Blaine, Wash. Scientists have found a dead Asian giant hornet north of Seattle, the first so-called...

The world’s largest hornet, the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), has been popularly dubbed the “murder hornet.” Credit: Washington State Department of Agriculture ==================================================================== Honeybees spread animal dung on the entrance of their hives to effectively ward off giant hornets. What’s the best way to ward off giant hornets if you’re a honeybee? Animal dung, according to a first-ever University of Guelph study. U of G researchers have discovered honeybees in Vietnam collect and apply spots of animal dung around hive entrances to deter deadly nest raids by an Asian hornet (Vespa soror) whose North American cousins have been dubbed...

After months of searching, in October scientists located and destroyed the first nest of giant 'murder hornets' ever discovered in the US, eradicating a hidden enclave of the invasive insects concealed in a tree in Washington State, close to the Canadian border. While the discovery and elimination of the nest is considered a victory by state and federal authorities – who are striving to prevent the Asian giant hornet from establishing a foothold in North America – a post-mortem of the hornets' former home provides a sobering perspective on the scale of the bug threat we're up against. After tracking...

The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron conducted the last flight using its F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornets on Wednesday. The aircraft, which the Blue Angels have flown for 34 years, will be replaced with F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets beginning with the team’s 2021 show season. The Hornets departed Florida’s Naval Air Station Pensacola at around 4 p.m. local time for a 30-minute flyover ranging from the Pensacola area to Alabama’s Fort Morgan.

Murder hornets from the first nest discovered on US soil have been successfully sucked out of a tree cavity and placed on ice after experts located the nest in Washington state this week by attaching radio trackers to the bugs. The so-called murder hornets, known for their potentially fatal sting to humans and their ability to wipe out an entire bee hive in a matter of hours, were vacuumed out of the tree into a long plastic tube before being killed, marking the culmination of a complex removal process Saturday morning.

As the US grapples with the world's worst coronavirus outbreak, a new threat is emerging as Asian giant hornets – known as “murder hornets” due to their lethal sting to humans – are gaining a foothold in the country. After they were first found in Washington State in May this year, the 2-inch (5cm)-long hornets have now been trapped for the first time – giving officials an indication – firstly that their traps work, and secondly of where nests could be situated. Now authorities in Washington State have until mid-September to try and eradicate the invasive species before the breeding...

Asia’s ‘murder hornets’ were spotted in the United States for the first time recently, causing scientists to worry that the insect might be colonizing. “In Japan, the hornets kill up to 50 people a year. Now, for the first time, they have arrived in the United States,” the New York Times reported Saturday. The article continued: With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young....

GIANT Asian hornets that have begun to invade the coronavirus-stricken U.S. may cost the economy millions of dollars a year. The insects, which can kill with a single sting, may have a devastating impact on the already dwindling honeybee population in the U.S. Experts estimate the pests may cause America a staggering $29.3 million as they invade. The invasion is projected as a coronavirus-stricken U.S. is already facing economic setbacks. Millions are out of work – with nearly 17 million applying for unemployment in the last three weeks alone – as more than 432,000 cases of the virus have been...

He was well protected by a beekeeping suit, and armed with a shovel to hack away at the monstrous hornets’ nest. “We got here, what I would say, is the granddaddy of all hornets’ nests,” Jude Verret, a Louisiana exterminator, said as he headed into a shed in Patterson, La., to clear a nest of Europan Yellow Jackets. Beyond physical protection, Verret must have been armed with quite a bit of courage, given the sheer size of the nest — and the million or more hornets he said were swarming around inside.

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An incident reminiscent of Biblical plagues descended on a village in northern China. It was there that swarms of huge and deadly hornets have killed more than 40 people and injured 1,600 more. Currently, 37 patients are in critical or guarded condition in hospitals in Shaanxi province. Photographs show that victims suffered wounds resembling the impacts of bullets that left deep, dark craters on their unprotected skin. A victim told local media “the more you run, the more they want to chase you.” Some victims were chased for more than 650 feet by the swarms.   The sting of...

I have received hundreds of emails regarding my post Attack of the "Digger Bees". Many suggested getting an EpiPen® (epinephrine) Auto-Injector? for Liz and we will do that. Many pointed out that "digger bees" are not bees but rather wasps. That is something I knew but did not mention in my post. I responded to some individuals that I like bees, and even have a "humble bumble" home for bumblebees, and I put out nests for mason bees. With that backdrop, some of you may be interested in Giant Deadly Hornets Kill Dozens And Injure Hundreds In China. Deadly hornets...

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to change their nickname to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season, numerous sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Hornets planned to change their nickname since Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, purchased the team on April 14. Benson also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans.