Asian giant hornet found in Washington State, putting U.S. on alert

Asian giant hornet found in Washington State, putting U.S. on alert

미국, ‘아시아 킬러말벌’ 상륙에 긴장

The United States has enough on its plate,… grappling the COVID-19 pandemic, but now a new threat has emerged this time in the shape of an enormous hornet from overseas that packs an intensely painful potentially deadly sting and has penchant for killing honey bees.
Kim Sung min tells us more.
Clocking in at more than twice the size of other species, this is the Asian giant hornet commonly observed in East Asian countries like Korea and Japan.
Surprisingly, this species has recently been spotted in the U.S., putting the country on alert.
The New York Times and UPI reported this week that the Department of Agriculture confirmed the species was first spotted last autumn in northwest of Washington state.
It was after the hornet appeared on Canada’s Vancouver Island around the same time.
The Asian giant hornet, known to be the largest of its kind in the world, is often defined as the biggest threat to bee farms as they attack honey bees.
Experts are worried the Asian giant hornet could ravage the native bee species.
However, The Hill reports their environmental impact on the local ecosystem has yet to be confirmed.
Another thing that concerns people is the hornet’s 6-milimeter long sting, which can penetrate even protective clothing.
Its venom is also seven-times stronger than that of a honeybee making it potentially fatal, even to humans.
“But if you sustain multiple stings, the necrosis and the venom will actually start getting into your bloodstream and will start working on your organs. And multiple stings could literally be fatal and have been fatal. Most literature from Japan, for example, says it’s responsible for 30 to 50 deaths a year.”
The New York Times even dubbed the species “murder hornets.”
However, experts still say the Asian giant hornet only attacks people when their nests are disturbed.
Unless they are irritated or disturbed, they wouldn’t track humans down and try and sting them.
Kim Sung-min, Arirang News.

#hornet #U.S. #Jangsumalbeol

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