For some reason, like a reverse ASMR video, the sound of so many helpless hornets buzzing was heeby jeeby inducing lol
I do like how it's supposed to be all hornets from the same nest, so it's not like it's indiscriminate in attracting hornets that aren't attacking honey bees.
Asian honeybees have developed a defensive strategy of mobbing attacking Asian hornets in a ball and vibrating their wing muscles to increase the temperature and eventually kill the hornet by overheating it. I assume this also kills a number of the colony's honeybees as well, but European bees have learned no similar defense and a single hornet can decimate a whole colony.
Note these are not the same as "murder hornets" (Vespa mandarinia) we heard about often in the news back during the pandemic, these are a close cousin called Vespa Velutina.
"Since its discovery in North America, the scientific literature and official government sources refer to this species by its established common name, Asian giant hornet, whilst the mainstream media have taken to using the nickname "murder hornet".[23][24][25] In July 2022, the Entomological Society of America stated that they will adopt the common name northern giant hornet for the species to avoid potentially discriminatory language, citing the rise in anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The searches I’ve done suggest the known nests were eradicated. I understand there’s a good chance there were probably a few went unnoticed, but i have my hopes.
Look I want to be optimistic too, but as far as species traveling between continents... it is often hard to put the genie back in the bottle. At the end of the day, either they are well adapted here, or they are not.
On the bright side they're huge and terrifying, so they probably won't stay under the radar anywhere around people. Almost anybody who notices these will try to track them down and kill them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onq9ixC7OEg
Very few honeybees end up in the trap, but a huge number of hornets are killed.
Actually sort of curious if this would work with some of the Wasps that plague US beekeepers...