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Scientists Use Sex to Trap Venom-Spitting Murder Hornets – Opinion

By Pluralist / March 19, 2022

Could murder hornets possibly be defeated by sexy means? According to recent science, yes.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard about the near-two-inch East Asian terrors, but they’re still among us.

Researchers might have found the solution to getting rid of these rascals.

It turns out that male hornets can be horny. And they’ll flock to wherever the queen’s sex pheromones beckon.

Hence, a “come hither” approach could be key to killing them.

They may be familiar with the fact that they appeared on the scene in 2019.

The New York Post provides details on the plague:

Wily bugs have a stinger that measures about one quarter inch in length.

The honey bee colony and crops are ravaged by the murder hornet, which puts both people and their livelihood at risk.

It was in the Pacific Northwest that the first known nest appeared. The workers caught a handful of them and attached transmitters using dental floss.

Thanks to my October 2020 coverage

[O]The ne [insidious invertebrates]Experts discovered a beehive that was the same size as a basketball.

Next was the worst.

[Washington State Department of Agriculture]Staff removed 200 estimated hornets.

The sighting was reported by a Washington resident last summer.

A press release

WSDA entomologists examined the report and determined that it was an Asian giant hornet. A photograph was included in the report showing an Asian giant hornet attacking a nest of paper wasps in Blaine. This is about two miles away from the spot where WSDA eliminated the first Asian giant hornet nest last October.

Similar behavior was observed in the previous year.

And now, there’s a new plan for eradicating the raiders.

Here’s the post:

[T]he male murder hornet is intensely attracted to the scent of the queen’s pheromones, which is primarily made of three different acids.

These acids can be purchased commercially. They were also used in traps that captured thousands of male murderer hornets.

Male murder hornets get misled and think they may find a breeding spot, but instead end up in a trap.

“The males are drawn to the odors of the females since they typically mate with them near their nests,” Professor James Nieh — a leading researcher studying how to catch the critters — explains,

Nieh is of the opinion that a trap with a pheromone lure will bring in a significant number of male murderers within 1 mile.

And it’ll make a lady of the queen:

By cutting off the queens’ access to males the risk of murder hornets breeding will be greatly reduced and their population will be driven down.

That’d be optimal since, not only do the giant bugs inject stingers, they can also spray venom into their victims’ eyes.

In 2013, swarms of murder hornets were responsible for 28 deaths and scores of injuries in China’s Shaanxi Province.

These animals make their homes in fallen trees. Just so:

Experts advise that if you’re attacked…resist the urge to swat at them. The best thing to do is run fast and cover up your face.

Is America going to be America’s permanent home if we kill hornets? Or will it just make America more attractive for them to extinction?

Either way, one thing’s for sure: Where natural attacks are concerned, it’s been a heck of a couple years.

-ALEX

 

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