A time of calamity provides ample fodder for the over-active
imagination. Life seems unpredictable. People feel disconnected, merely
reacting to external events that they can't hope to control. The uncertainty
ensuing from world events taking center stage in ordinary peoples' lives is
anathema to the human brain, which cries out anxiously for a clean narrative.
Any sort of tale, no matter how outlandish, would surely be
preferable, so long as it ties in the glaring loose ends all over the place. It
could be some sort of half-baked conspiracy theory concerning conniving
government officials. It could be swarms of Asian "murder hornets" blotting out
the sun over the Pacific Ocean like an Old Testament nightmare: "When Moses's
people were in Pharaoh's land, let the people go," and so on and so forth.
In recent weeks, this bizarre narrative about apocalyptic
bugs appears to have caused mass hysteria. Following the self-fulfilling
prophecy of the internet phenomenon, anything that frightens people must
immediately be ridiculed and memefied.
Some people might genuinely be scared to death about
beady-eyed insect hordes that follow attack patterns like Kamikazes. The word
for widespread disease outbreak is "plague," after all—an ancient word with a
Biblical etymology signifying divine wrath. If you're someone who thinks God
sent the coronavirus to punish sinners, then it makes sense to be looking over
your shoulder for bugs. A hornet, murderous or otherwise, could be mistaken for
a locust and vice versa.
For the less literal-minded, non-fire-and-brimstone types,
posting about the end of days is meant to be ironic. Regardless of whether or
not it's raining blood outside, life under the coronavirus induces stress.
People need to let off steam somehow.
Before you start ritualistically sacrificing domestic
animals and painting your doorsteps with entrails to assuage the Angel of
Death, consider the truth about murder hornets. A publication called The Conversation recently interviewed an
entomologist with experience in Japan. They asked Akito Y. Kawahara, a
professor at the University of Florida, five questions.
1.How
common are giant hornets in Asia, and what are they like there?
Giant hornets are relatively common in many East Asian
countries. They aren't necessarily aggressive, unless provoked. Hornets should
be considered more dangerous than bees and wasps. They can sting a person more
than once, and they have enough reach to penetrate thick clothing. A sting
causes no more than irritation that goes away soon, except in cases of allergic
reaction. Serious allergic reactions are vanishingly rare.
2.Is it
surprising that hornets are in this hemisphere now?
Two Asian hornet nests have been found in North America so
far, one in Washington state and one in Canada. They are an invasive species
who probably crossed the ocean as stowaways. Most likely a "single, fertile
queen" made it, as a whole colony would have been detected by customs agents.
These incidents occurred back in 2019. No one has discovered any giant hornets
on the continent this year.
3.What
is the bug's natural habitat?
Giant hornets usually live in temperate mountainous areas,
where the temperature remains moderate year-round. It's possible that these
bugs could spread throughout the Pacific Northwest because of its climate. That
scenario is remote, however, because of the giant hornet's limited foraging
range.
4.Could
the invasive species usurp native pollinators like bees?
Hornets have been known to make war on bees in the past.
They generally feed on other insects. If giant hornets spread, beekeepers need
to take active measures to protect their insects from larger predators.
5.Are
headlines about "murder hornets" sensational?
The media reports are hyperbolic. In Japan, people accept
the giant hornets. Hornets eradicate pests, and certain people eat them as a
delicacy. If you live in the Northwest and see a giant hornet, photograph it
and send the photo to wildlife authorities.
It turns out that the murder hornets came to the
States as stowaways in some mysterious freight originating in Asia. The origins
of the coronavirus are somewhat obscure, but people seem to have their
suspicions. It's almost as if there were a trend of dangerous imports from that
side of the world (Paging China's Hubei Province—the wet markets in Wuhan).
Seriously, though, the viral murder hornet story
appears to have been highly exaggerated after all. The bugs might not have
spread at all. Even if they did, unless you're a Northwestern bee farmer or
some sort of honey-guzzling grizzly bear, there isn't much cause for
concern.
