Federal and state officials announced on Wednesday that they had discovered a dead Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, North of Seattle, the first so-called Murder Hornet detected in the United States of America, this year.
It's the first confirmed record from Snohomish County according to entomologists from the state and U.S. Agriculture departments. It believed to be unrelated to the hornets' discovery in Canada in 2019 and 2020. It is unclear how they got here from Asia, however, it is suspected they travel on cargo ships.
V. mandarinia are the world's largest hornet. Female workers can grow to be nearly four centimeters long, with strong biting mouthparts that allow them to decapitate their prey. Hornets are solitary hunters by nature.
A man noticed a dead hornet on his lawn in Marysville on June 4 and reported it to the state agency, which was the most recent sighting. Entomologists examined it on June 8 and discovered it to be fairly dry and a male hornet.
Because of the time of year, the fact that it was a male, and the fact that the specimen was unusually dry, entomologists assumed it to be an old hornet from a prior season that was not discovered until now. New males Hornets don't normally appear until at least July. The hornet has no apparent path to Marysville, according to officials.
The US Department of Agriculture's quarantine program's deputy administrator, Dr Osama El-Lissy, said the federal agency will collaborate with state officials to examine the area to see if a population existed in Snohomish County.
The Hornet was submitted to the Federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for final verification after it was discovered for the first time in that county. It had distinct colouring than previously collected specimens in North America.
Entomologists confirmed it was an Asian Giant Hornet, on June 11. The specimen looked to be unconnected to the Hornet introductions in Whatcom County of Canada, according to DNA tests. The newly discovered Hornet didn't have any orange stripes on its abdomen and likely came from a country in South Asia.
The need for public reporting for all suspected invasive species, especially the Asian Giant Hornet, has been highlighted by the authorities. According to officials, the public reported half of the confirmed Asian Giant Hornet sightings in Washington and all of the known sightings in Canada in 2020.
According to Spichiger, "We'll now be installing traps in the area and urging citizen scientists to do the same in Snohomish and King Counties." The United States Department of Agriculture has added Giant Hornets to its list of quarantine pests, giving Washington state greater powers to combat the invasive species.
Murder Hornet Dangerous For Human
Murder Hornet stings can reach a length of up to 6.4 cm. Due to their size, an Asian Giant Hornet can sting humans numerous times and deliver bigger dosages of venom. The venom is fairly poisonous, causing necrosis and melting flesh around the cut.
Most people, according to research, can survive one or two stings, but if a person gets stung several times, necrosis and venom enter the bloodstream and begin to harm the organs. Although hornet stings do not pose a direct threat to people, still, numerous stings can be fatal. Each year, they kill roughly 50 individuals in Japan.
Impact On Economy
The Murder Hornet is a threat to agriculture and the apiary sector, in addition to humans. The Hornets go into a 'slaughter phase', where they attack and kill bees. Photographs and videos have emerged in recent days revealing how ruthlessly this insect has attacked honeybees, crawling inside hives and ripping off the heads of bees in vast numbers, earning it the supervillain nickname "Murder Hornet".
The Asian Giant Hornet kills honeybees and feeds on its young bee pupae and larvae. The gigantic Hornet, also eats a variety of insects. They become more harmful in the late summer. A few Asian Giant Hornets can kill adult bees and take over a bee colony in just a few hours.
It is important to protect honeybees and other native bee species for agriculture, particularly crop and pasture production. A country’s economy can be adversely affected by ‘Murder Hornet’. The bee industry and entomologists in the United States of America and Canada are urging producers and beekeepers to look out for the Asian Giant Hornet.
Honeybee colonies have been proved to increase crop yields in the area, according to a study. Producers like to use bees to pollinate certain crops. Some self-pollinated crops do not always provide a yield advantage. Even with self-pollinating oilseed canola, producers have seen a yield benefit of up to 13% when bees are present, compared to areas without bees.
Every year, beekeepers provide billions of honeybees, to help pollinate at least 90 different kinds of crops. It is worrisome that this discovery could further worsen the already deep loss on pollinator populations.
Written by - Kriti Verma
Edited by - Piyush Pandey
Edited by - Piyush Pandey
.jpeg)
0 Comments