Washington State Department of Agriculture.
- Asian giant hornets, known by their horrifying nickname "murder hornets" have been spotted for the first time in the US.
- As the world's largest hornets, these insects can grow up to two inches long and are capable of slaughtering entire colonies of bees and even killing people.
- Up to 50 people a year are killed by the giant hornets in Japan.
- Researchers fear that if the hornets aren't contained now, then they might establish themselves in the US permanently and cause damage to ecosystems.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Yet another deadly invader has landed in the US, and this time it's a massive, stinging creature, known for its swift ability to decapitate its prey.
The Asian giant hornet, nicknamed the "murder hornet", has been spotted for the first time on US soil, leading scientists to undergo a series of eradication efforts throughout Washington state.
These creatures can grow up to two inches long and their venomous sting is notorious for mass murdering honey bees — but they can kill humans, too.
Up to 50 people a year die from the hornets in Japan, and in 2013, a swarm killed 42 people and injured 1,600 in one Chinese province.
"You can imagine by the sheer size of them that if someone stumbled across a nest, and got stung by a few angry hornets, that would be a significant venom load," Todd Murray, an invasive species expert at Washington State University, told Business Insider.
People who have gotten stung by the giant hornets have described it as feeling like hot metal being injected into the skin. But the danger it poses to bees is perhaps the greatest threat: the US has already seen a decline in honey bee populations, and if the hornets become widespread, it could be a significant disruptor to ecosystems.
Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture, has previously said that unless the species is eradicated within the next couple of years, it's possible that it could become widely established in North America.
But with so much unknown, he warns that window of time could be smaller than scientists think.
"It's possible that that couple-year window could be pessimistically small," Looney told Business Insider. "But I don't think our response could have been any faster, unless we already had a trapping program going."
These photos show just how menacing the Asian giant hornet can be, and why an invasion could be devastating for honeybee populations, and possibly humans.
Asian giant hornets are the world's largest hornet species, and until now, they were mostly found in parts of East and Southeast Asia.
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Source: National Geographic
The hornets can grow to be a whopping two inches long, and have been nicknamed "murder hornets," for their ravenous appetites and ability to mass-kill honey bees.
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Source: Insider
Asian giant hornets have black and yellow abdomens with large, protruding eyes. But their most obvious descriptor is their unusual size, Looney said. "The main characteristic is that they're a really, really big animal," he told Business Insider.
Washington State Department of AgricultureSee the rest of the story at Business Insider
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