Weka posted:

The article in the OP mentioned these have probably been imported on purpose. Why would anyone do this?!

Spectral_beard posted:

I'm no biologist but remember when they had pest beatles in Australia so they imported cain toads to take out the beatles, and the toads have now been ravaging Australia for 30 years?

We use Cain toads to kill the hornets. It can't fail.

Supreme Allah posted:

this is like that show where we all died and we're in hell but nobody realizes it

Kharnifex posted:

Bullshit fear mongering,

From Sloan Tomlinson, an Entomologist that co runs a large Entomology group.

"Shame on your New York Times.

PSA for all my friends as several have messaged me about the recent “Murder Hornets!!!!!!” NYT article (and the subsequent trash pick up articles from TMZ etc.)

Vespa mandarinia has probably the most infamy of any wasp thanks to sensationalized video of them on nature programs and erroneous “acid venom dissolving your skin!, etc.” “facts” about them. Yes. They are large wasps. Yes. They will attack when the nest is threatened and will sting repeatedly (what’s dangerous is not their venom itself that’s a problem, but the fact their venom loads are large and they usually have hundreds to thousands of workers attacking). In areas with dense populations of them in their native ranges people do die from them (in the US around 40 or more people die annually from domestic dog attacks (actually making them the most likely animal in the US to be attacked and killed by)).

In relation to “invading America”; last summer ONE nest was officially found, and subsequently destroyed in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Not long after that another dead specimen was found right at the border in Washington state. As of right now these are the only confirmed sightings. An invasion that does not make. Even if this wasp establishes in any way, it will be destroyed, long before it can spread deep into the country (as a comparison Vespa crabro (the European hornet and ONLY hornet definitively established in the Americas) has been in the Americas since about 1860 and still is not found everywhere and not past the middle of country.

Most of this fear is being spread by beekeepers, who themselves are raising a non-native stinging insect, responsible for damaging ecosystems, and also the most common insect for people to die from anaphylactic shock in the US.

The problem with this fear? Here’s an example from one of the groups I help admin. MOST people can’t tell the difference from one wasp to the next. This is now a dead smashed Vespula squamosa, a native species. This will continue. We’ve had bees, many other wasp species, sawlfies, hover flies, even a moth IDed by novices as V. mandarinia. People already fear insects, especially wasps.

Shame on you New York Times."

Kharnifex posted:

I. M. Gei posted:

Good news for NBA fans though. Now when the New Orleans Pelicans fold they can move to Seattle and call themselves the Hornets again.

Kharnifex posted:

"Shame on your New York Times.

PSA for all my friends as several have messaged me about the recent “Murder Hornets!!!!!!” NYT article (and the subsequent trash pick up articles from TMZ etc.)

Vespa mandarinia has probably the most infamy of any wasp thanks to sensationalized video of them on nature programs and erroneous “acid venom dissolving your skin!, etc.” “facts” about them. Yes. They are large wasps. Yes. They will attack when the nest is threatened and will sting repeatedly (what’s dangerous is not their venom itself that’s a problem, but the fact their venom loads are large and they usually have hundreds to thousands of workers attacking). In areas with dense populations of them in their native ranges people do die from them (in the US around 40 or more people die annually from domestic dog attacks (actually making them the most likely animal in the US to be attacked and killed by)).

In relation to “invading America”; last summer ONE nest was officially found, and subsequently destroyed in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Not long after that another dead specimen was found right at the border in Washington state. As of right now these are the only confirmed sightings. An invasion that does not make. Even if this wasp establishes in any way, it will be destroyed, long before it can spread deep into the country (as a comparison Vespa crabro (the European hornet and ONLY hornet definitively established in the Americas) has been in the Americas since about 1860 and still is not found everywhere and not past the middle of country.

Most of this fear is being spread by beekeepers, who themselves are raising a non-native stinging insect, responsible for damaging ecosystems, and also the most common insect for people to die from anaphylactic shock in the US.

The problem with this fear? Here’s an example from one of the groups I help admin. MOST people can’t tell the difference from one wasp to the next. This is now a dead smashed Vespula squamosa, a native species. This will continue. We’ve had bees, many other wasp species, sawlfies, hover flies, even a moth IDed by novices as V. mandarinia. People already fear insects, especially wasps.

Shame on you New York Times.
Sincerely,
A. H. Ornet"

Cantaloupe posted:

lotta hosed up poo poo coming out of asia recently. has anyone looked into that?

Wanted By Weed posted:

You guys know we already have invasive giant hornets here in America, right? They're just not super common.

FogHelmut posted:

This guy flew down and landed in the back of my truck yesterday.


Where is the other half of his body?

Spectral_beard posted:

Well I learned three things today, one is the band and the bug are not spelled the same, second is that I'm a loving idiot, third that I, along with all of us will probably be stung to death by hornets.

Sir Nose posted:

Also it's cane toads

Milo and POTUS posted:

There are very few things I'd be gleeful about killing but mosquitoes, cockroaches and wasps are three

Wanted By Weed posted:

You guys know we already have invasive giant hornets here in America, right? They're just not super common.

Spectral_beard posted:

I'm no biologist but remember when they had pest beatles in Australia so they imported cain toads to take out the beatles, and the toads have now been ravaging Australia for 30 years?

We use Cain toads to kill the hornets. It can't fail.

interwhat posted:

I've seen them here and Ohio as well as back where I am from in Maryland. Not sure why this is news. They are scary as gently caress though. When they do a low hover they blow leaves around lol