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When Giant Hornets Attack

By grrlscientist on February 22, 2007.

Swarms of giant hornets are getting ready to invade Britain. The 1.8 inch long insects feed their young with the larvae of bees and they can destroy a nest of 30,000 honeybees in several hours. Already, they have devastated bee populations in large areas of France.

The Asian hornets, with a three-inch wingspan, can also attack humans with their stings. Their string has been compared to a hot nail entering the body.

"There's no doubt that these hornets are heading north and will probably find their way to Britain," said Stuart Hine, of the Natural History Museum in London. "However, they may still have difficulty coping with our winter frosts."

The hornet is thought to have arrived in Europe from Asia in crates of Chinese pottery in 2004. Climate change has been blamed for its rapid spread.

Cited story and image source.

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Dammit Sir! Winnie shall immediatly call on the brave lads of the RAF, and once again, into the breach, and all that.

Keep a stiff upper lip, old boy, I do believe that there is a certain Sussex Beekeeper that shall be able to sort this right out.

We shall fight them on the beaches. We shall fight them in their hives. We shall never give up!

An invasive species story in The Sun - now I've seen everything.

Love how they strip almost everything scientific out of the original piece. At least they have that kickin' graphic of a hornet devouring a honeybee :-).

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!

Ahem. Sorry. Stiff upper lip here definitely, not in any way hiding under the desk with a big can of Raid.

i have seen what they are talking about in my garden yesterday but looked bigger than 1.8in long ive never seen anything like it im in leicestershire

I have what looks like giant hornets all over my two ash trees in my front yard. I have never seen anything like these insects before in Kansas. I have a six year old grandson and am worried he may agitate them someday and get stung. I'm too chicken to try to exterminate them myself so I guess I better call a professional to get rid of these nasty creatures.