# Invasive species: Giant hornets in Washington state, British Columbia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181 "2020-05-05T14:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/41 "2020-05-08T13:58:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Let us enumerate them. Note: According to traditional ritual, we spill a drop of wine out of our cups as each plague is named. > > 1. [Swarms of locusts in East Africa.](https://www.npr.org/2020/02/21/807483297/why-are-swarms-of-locusts-wreaking-havoc-in-east-africa) (Where are the seagulls when you need them?) > > 2. Donald Trump and family and associates. > > 3. Covid-1 through Covid-19. > > 4. Droughts. > > 5. Robocalls. > > 6. And now: Murder hornets. Don’t forget Net Neutrality. What we already knew: WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! What the media tells us: The latest thing that doing to kill us all, until it doesn’t and something else comes along. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/42 "2020-05-08T14:11:28Z")
I think the murder hornet mania is really a result of a distraction-hungry media (and public). Also it’s fun to say. But real worry? There are other insects who deserve it a lot more. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/bug-experts-dismiss-worry-about-us-murder-hornets-as-hype/2020/05/07/05a30882-9096-11ea-9322-a29e75effc93\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/bug-experts-dismiss-worry-about-us-murder-hornets-as-hype/2020/05/07/05a30882-9096-11ea-9322-a29e75effc93_story.html) > [@](#): > > University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum said of the worry: “People are afraid of the wrong thing. The scariest insect out there are mosquitoes. People don’t think twice about them. If anyone’s a murder insect, it would be a mosquito.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/43 "2020-05-08T14:22:56Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > I think the murder hornet mania is really a result of a distraction-hungry media (and public). These hornets were news up here in early-December. (I live where the two were found.) I think _The New York Times_ found the old story and decided to run it, resulting in the mania. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/44 "2020-05-08T14:57:57Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > A Murder Hornet vs Praying Mantis. Things dont go well for the Murder Hornet. Sadly, I have to raise you this: > **[File:Hornet eating mantis-1.jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hornet_eating_mantis-1.jpg)** It unfortunately goes both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/45 "2020-06-08T20:03:19Z")
Ever since the murder hornet story came out I’ve been hoping for a visit from a cicada killer so that I could try photographing it with my cell phone. I finally saw one today, but unfortunately it was too hyperactive for me to get a good photo. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/NDq1oI9) are my two best shots. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/46 "2020-06-09T07:28:20Z")
I’ve seen these in real life and they _are_ very scary. We were traveling in Sri Lanka last year and were on a hike with a local guide into a mountainous jungle area. We stopped at an abandoned rubber plantation for a rest. As the guide was describing something about the terrain, I heard a loud buzzing about 30m behind us. There was a dilapidated 2 story building and what looked to be hundreds hummingbirds flying in and out of a small second story window. As the guide kept talking to my wife, I was captivated and started walking over to get a closer look. I never knew hornets that size existed so the closest existing category my brain found was hummingbirds. At the same time, things were weird about them - the flight pattern, the sounds, the colours…I recall thinking: “They’re hummingbirds but can’t be hummingbirds, WTF are these?” I walked about 10 steps toward the building and the guide saw me and started shouting and ran up and pulled me back. WTF? He explained that I was walking toward a huge nest of giant hornets and they were very aggressive and protective of their nest. “Don’t go any closer. If they attack, we can’t outrun them and have nowhere to hide!!!” That’s why we don’t hike alone. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/47 "2024-12-18T23:44:11Z")
\*\* bump \*\* The murder hornets have been murdered (at least in the U.S.). > **[Invasive 'murder hornets' are wiped out in the US, officials say](https://apnews.com/article/murder-hornet-giant-invasive-honey-bee-fbf496fba789bc4b17750dbbec904b5f)** > > The world’s largest hornet has been declared eradicated in the U.S. The invasive northern giant hornet is also known as the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and its ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/48 "2024-12-19T09:47:51Z")
Have the Canadians also declared victory? I won’t celebrate unless they’re gone from both sides of the border. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2024, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181/49 "2024-12-19T12:08:52Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Have the Canadians also declared victory? Yes. They are [considered eradicated](https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/murder-hornets-whats-all-the-buzz-about/) currently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invasive-species-giant-hornets-in-washington-state-british-columbia/853181.md?page=2)