Horny Hornets: Scientists Use Sex to Trap Venom-Spitting Murder Hornets

Might murder hornets be defeated in a sexy way? Recent science suggests yes.

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

And researchers may have cracked the code on getting rid of the rascals.

As it turns out, the male hornets are horny. And they’ll flock to wherever the queen’s sex pheromones beckon.

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

You may recall that they hit the scene in 2019.

The New York Post notes the particulars of the pestilence:

The wily bug has a stinger about a quarter-inch long.

The murder hornet wreaks havoc on honey bee colonies and crop fields, putting the livelihood of insects and people at stake.

The first known nest appeared in the Pacific Northwest. Workers trapped a few of the flyers and used dental floss to attach a transmitter.

Courtesy of my October 2020 coverage:

[O]ne of the [insidious invertebrates] led experts to a hive the size of a basketball.

What happened next sucked.

[Washington State Department of Agriculture] staff vacuumed out what were estimated to be 200 hornets.

Last summer saw a return: A Washington resident registered a sighting.

From a press release:

WSDA entomologists reviewed and confirmed the report as an Asian giant hornet on Aug. 12. The report included a photograph of an Asian giant hornet attacking a paper wasp nest in a rural area east of Blaine, about 2 miles from where WSDA eradicated the first Asian giant hornet nest in the United States last October.

The same behavior had been observed the year before.

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

Per 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 are commercially available and used in traps that yielded thousands of captured male murder hornets.

The male murder hornets are misled into thinking they might find a breeding opportunity but end up meeting their demise in the bottom of 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 thinks a pheromone bait will attract a good portion of the male murder hornets within a mile of the trap.

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.

They make homes in dead trees. And just so you know:

Experts advise that if you’re attacked…resist the urge to swat at them. Your best choice is to run away as fast as possible while covering your face.

Will murder hornets make America a permanent home, or might we woo them into extinction?

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

WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!!

"2020 in a Nutshell: New York Sees a Series of Assaults by Vicious Squirrels"https://t.co/7quR5LdaBQ pic.twitter.com/rPNKozovYv

— Alex Parker (@alexparker1984) December 31, 2020