Murder Hornets Invade North America, Europe (Updated)

The "murder hornet" is the Asian giant hornet
Photo Credit: Unknown

The Asian giant hornets (AGH) are only now beginning their foray into North America.

UPDATE: Texas governor requests formation of a task force to prepare for AGH invasion.

They've already established a beachhead in Europe. "Murder hornets" have been in Britain since 2016. Before Britain, the murder hornets also invaded Spain (2010), Portugal and Belgium (2011), Italy (2012), and Germany (2014).

Twitter was freaked out by screaming click-bait tweets about "Murder Hornets," winged stinging devils from Hell itself, reeking of sulfur. But seriously, these little monsters are actually no laughing matter. They're just as scary as some people would have you think. So, just what are these so-called "Murder Hornets?"

Adult cicada killer wasp hauling its cicada prey.

Photo by Steven Kritchen, Bugguide.net

A brief note about those huge wasps we see in Texas: They are NOT "murder hornets." They're the "cicada killer wasp" (Sphecius speciosus). Texas A&M says that "Although female cicada killers can sting, they usually ignore people and are rarely aggressive. On the other hand, males are often territorial and may act aggressively. Here’s the deal though. Males don’t possess stingers and are completely harmless." I see them in Houston. They're impressive but not threatening.

"Murder hornets" are better known as "Asian giant hornets." Their venomous sting can kill humans. It is Vespa mandarinia, the world's largest hornet species. They are native to Southeast Asia and they prey on other critters. Their favorite prey is bees. One sting is enough to a human allergic to their venom, but several stings can kill a non-allergic person. Imagine tiny striped rattlesnakes with wings and a penchant for mayhem. That's what "murder hornets" are like.

According to the New York Times, it's also "known as the yak-killer hornet, the commander wasp in Korea and the tiger head bee in Taiwan, according to experts." The NYT quoted May Berenbaum, the head of the entomology department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: "You want to talk about beepocalypse...They are sworn enemies of honey bees. I would say a bee’s worst nightmare. Probably the worst nightmare of a lot of people, too."

For the moment, the state of Washington is the only part of the U.S. that Asian giant hornets are know to have established themselves. Take no comfort in that, however.  It’s just a matter of time before the “murder hornet’’ gets to the East Coast, experts warned The Post on Sunday.

Caught On Camera! Chicago Couple Gets Busy On Public Sidewalk

SHOCKING PHOTOS BELOW:
August 12, 2012 - Chicago - The shameless act of two Rogers Park residents was caught on camera yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago's north side. I walked along the quiet 1000 block of W. Pratt Avenue, nestled between N. Sheridan Road and Lake Michigan.

Unexpectedly, I ran into a couple making love on the sidewalk, in full view of everyone. Children were nearby, and these two love bugs were completely uninhibited. They were aware of me, I believe, but continued their lustful act even as I knelt just inches away from them, camera in hand. This was the hottest cicada on cicada action I've ever witnessed.

I'm fairly certain that these were the Tibicen linnei species. One was approximately 1.5 inches long from "nose" to the back end of its wings. The other (the female?) was a bit shorter. Both of them were completely naked, naturally, as they exchanged bodily fluids and empty promises to love each other forever and ever. 

For those of you who thought you going to see a naked couple of humans getting busy, shame on you.

And here's a note to the imbeciles at Google AdSense: You're blocking ads on this blog for a damned post about insect mating, you morons.


Click on images to make them bigger:

Grasshopper Brain

Jocelyn does it again, with another bit of insight with wry humor. She wonders about the insect-like qualities of Moore Monkey David Fagus: I just read his blog post titled, "Is Don Gordon for real?", and it made me wonder. He starts off by challenging Don to not take any campaign contributions from developers starting now. First of all, it takes a lot of nerve for someone who is rolling in the mud to tell the other guy that he has a spot of ketchup on his shirt. Read Jocelyn's entire posting...