Remember How Worried We Were About ‘Murder Hornets?’

Remember when 'Murder Hornets' were a hot topic that had us all on edge? Let's take a moment to look back on these intimidating insects that captured everyone's attention for a hot minute.

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The name alone can send shivers down your spine, right? Murder and hornets—two words that invoke fear. It was a match made in heaven, designed to rattle us.

But what exactly were these 'Murder Hornets'? And should we still be concerned about them? The Asian giant hornet, scientifically known as “Vespa Mandarinia,” holds the title for the world's largest hornet. This creature is indigenous to temperate and tropical regions of East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East. It made a surprising appearance in the Pacific Northwest of North America in late 2019, with several additional sightings in 2020. That was a busy year, wasn’t it? Nests were discovered in 2021. This raised alarms about the possibility of it becoming an invasive species.

Now, before you envision a horror movie scene with these hornets, it's important to note that they aren't exactly harmless, but there's no need to lose sleep over them. They generally only attack when provoked, so the best advice was to steer clear of their nests whenever possible. However, if that unfortunate encounter did happen, brace yourself—their larger size can result in stings that pack a nastier punch than those from other, more normal-sized insects.

Well, as of July 2023, there hasn't been a confirmed sighting of the northern giant hornet in North America since 2021. In that year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture took action by destroying a nest after trapping, tagging, and tracking them.

Let's keep this memory of 'Murder Hornets' in our vault of peculiar worries and hope that their frightful tale remains in the past.