A HUGE green hornet from Asia has arrived in the US for the first time. The consequences are devastating for the already struggling bee. They will tear the head off of a bee, among other things. It's sting can be deadly to humans, even if you are not allergic. too. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/us/washington-giant-murder-hornets/index.html
@lovendures, I saw the gigantic hornet on the news this evening. What is weird to me is that now we have the pest with our pestilence. What is going on?! That thing SCARED me.
I've looked up the "Murder Hornet" aka the Asian Green Hornet and it's a terrifying read for sure, especially the graphic images of the dead bees. I suggest don't read the NYT article on if you don't want be scar.
Some animals kill for food but this hornet is just so murderous and psychotic if that's a thing when it comes to animals. It's like the insect version of the Huns the way they not decimated but how they kill the bees.
The saddest thing is that the honey bees in North America isn't ready for this. The Japanese honey bees had to learn it via by experience, evolution and generations to learn how to defend themselves from it and it's a difficult fight if they had to. I really feel for those poor bees.
Yup. Just what we need - another invasive something from Asia that is dangerous to living things. Going forward, I no longer see unlimited global trade as a positive.
Personally we shouldn't rely too heavily global trade to the point as a crutch. If COVID has taught us anything, it can collapse overnight and causing a lot of problems on the Homefront. Personally we should start being more self reliant, so if the bad times hit, we can still find those times more manageble for the local populace.
Also in general, a foreign species, especially if they are consider pests, are not a good thing for the local eco-system in general. Not only it will effect the local wildlife, but it will damage the local argricaltrual sector and general livlihood as well.
I speak from my experience from the past, where some idiot has introduced sugar cane toads to Australia years ago, causing endless headache in regards to our eco system.
The only siverlining that eventually our wildlife has started to know how deal with it, but it requires generations of trial and error from our wildlife itself.
I don't know how the bees and other US wildlife will handle such a deadly and selfserving pest. Even wolves only kill if they need to for food and they tend to look after their kin. These hornets dump their queen and most of the lavae to die as soon the winter season arrives, while cultivating a new queen as their pawn for the next year. Awful and not the most self sufficience creatures around.