Asian Giant Hornets Are Back in the News: Murder Hornet Fact vs Fiction - iOnGreenville: Your Guide to Greenville South Carolina

There has been a lot of press surrounding the Asian Giant Hornet and some of it has tended toward the sensational as this hornet has garnered the name “Murder Hornet”. The news is driven by the discovery of a dead specimen of an Asian giant hornet recently collected in the northwestern corner of Washington state.

We reached out to A. Denise Attaway, PhD at Clemson Public Service and Agriculture to help us separate the truth versus the myth. She was kind enough to share this article with us by Eric P. Benson on which much of this post is based.

How are different from other bees, wasp and hornets we see in the Upstate?

Asian giant hornets are big. They are five times larger than a honey bee, and they may feed on many other insects, especially other social bees and wasps such as honey bees. They have a super thick exoskeleton making them impervious to honey bee stings.

Is the Asian giant hornet in the Upstate?

Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia) are about 2 inches long and are not established in South Carolina. In the United States, the only specimens found have been in northwest Washington State near the Canadian border. While there have been reports of this hornet in our area, the people reporting have either had native cicada killers, baldfaced hornets, or the exotic European hornet. All these wasps are large, but they are not as large or intimidating as the Asian giant hornet.

Should I worry about seeing this hornet soon in the Upstate?

No more concern than you may have about Africanized honey bees. You shouldn’t worry about seeing Asian giant hornets in South Carolina anytime soon.

Do Asian giant hornets pose a threat to humans?

Asian giant hornets pose no more of a threat to people than any of the native bees or wasps.

In South Carolina, invasive hornet uproar is much ado about nothing …
Tom Hallman, Clemson Public Service and Agriculture

Do these hornets pose a potential threat to honey bees?

Asian giant hornets do pose a threat to managed honey bee colonies. While honey bees can’t sting Asian hornets to death, they can kill individual hornets by “balling” around them, vibrating their flight muscles, and killing the hornet by heat exhaustion. However, when multiple hornets attack at once, they are able to overcome the bees’ natural defense, killing the workers. In this manner, they are able to destroy a honey bee colony in a matter of hours.

It’s always good to hear from an expert, especially when the news features the unknown. We hope that this article answers your questions about the Asian Giant Hornet and can help it shed the moniker “Murder Hornet”.

If this you have more questions regarding the Asian giant hornet, please contact HGIC at hgic@clemson.edu or call 1-888-656-9988.
Learn more at hgic.clemson.edu