Achi news desk-
You only saw for an instant before he got you.
Narrow, translucent wings, patches of high yellow and obsidian black; sharp, alien features and an even sharper stinger. Good heavens, her size!
At first glance, it may seem that this could only mean one thing – five years after they first saw Canada in 2019, they may have finally come to your neighborhood. The dreaded northern giant hornet, better known as the “murder” hornet, is here, right?
Or was it a regular wasp?
As temperatures rise out of a mild El Nino winter, Canada’s buggie season is once again upon us, and with apocalyptic visions of supposed killer insects still fresh in the minds of gardeners, beekeepers and enthusiasts afternoons alike, it’s easy to let your imagination run away with you.
Although it may be terrifying, the prospect of a buzzing death sweeping across the country remains remote, according to experts. More likely than not, the little beasts stalking your garden and harassing your local beekeeper are one of many native or naturalized species, not a new or invasive bug.
“What we see in any given year is going to change – right place, right time,” said University of Toronto entomologist Rosalind Murray, in an interview with CTVNews.ca. “With climate change … it’s warmer, but daylight hasn’t changed; [that] can make animals a little confused … some people may be seeing, for the first time, these very confused bumblebees.”
Here’s how to tell if it’s worth raising the alarm for the angry creature sticking out of your arm:
They!
The Asian hornet, formerly known as the Asian hornet, is a species of wasp that is native to India, China, Korea and Japan. The largest known species of hornet, they can grow to five centimeters in length, according to the Invasive Species Center (ISC), and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., non-profit.
The hornets’ killer nickname can be traced to their highly predatory behavior towards North American honey bees, not humans — in fact, the ISC notes, although their sting is known to be painful, they usually behave aggressive towards larger animals only if their nest. is threatened.
Northern giant hornets grabbed headlines in 2019 when officials in Nanaimo, BC and Washington state spotted specimens on both sides of the border. For local insects and arthropods, they pose a serious risk to life and limb, which can also damage plant populations as key pollinators come under attack.
In the years since their discovery on the west coast, governments have maintained a policy of destroying the invasive wasp’s nests wherever they are found, and residents are encouraged to report sightings to their provincial conservation authorities.
With temperatures rising across North America, concerns have historically been raised about the expanding area in which a species such as the northern giant hornbill could potentially survive the winter, theoretically allowing for for geographical spread.
Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, walks with a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from a nest in a tree behind him Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in Blaine, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)Fortunately, confirmed sightings have been sporadic. A transboundary database maintained by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) shows that although northern giant bumblebees have been found on 45 occasions since it began tracking them, the most recent of which was in 2021.
“The work to ensure their eradication is not over yet,” WSDA managing entomologist Sven Spichiger said in a statement in November 2022 marking the first season not seen since 2018.
For WSDA to declare the species extirpated, three consecutive seasons must pass without a nest or specimen being found. Meanwhile, Canada prefers to wait five years. With those milestones approaching this year, it’s helpful to know exactly what they’re looking for—and what they’re not.
If he flies like a hornet…
This spring, social media posts of large, hornet-like bugs have cropped up thousands of kilometers from the BC-Washington border, in eastern Ontario.
“Found this beast on our deck!” reads mail on Carleton Place, Ont. Facebook group, depicting a large, yellow-black insect almost half the length of the photographer’s thumb.
“In the last few days I have seen this huge, what looks to be a large bumblebee, around my home,” read another post. “It was amazing to see the size of this thing. I guess [two] inches [five centimetres]! HUGE!”
A hasty search of local community groups returns plenty of scary specimens hanging from branches, poking up against the inside of household traps or flying brittle, but alongside them a cadre of amateur entomologists are reminding local people not to jump to conclusions.
“I’ve been seeing loads of mail[s] on local groups worried they’ve seen an Asian Hornet AKA the Assassin Hornet or Northern Giant Hornet (never seen in Ontario), when in fact it’s actually a (non-invasive) European Hornet,” wrote Smiths Falls, Ont. .a member of the group in a self-described public service announcement.
They are not the only ones to note the similarities. The ISC describes European hornets, which have lived in Canada as far back as the mid-1800s, as the species most often mistaken for the northern giant, typically measuring just over half the size, with a lighter yellow color and a hole distinctive lock. shaped marks on each of their black stripes.
European cornets do not pose the same threat to the local environment, and are considered “native” to the Ontario ecosystem, according to the centre. Other species that could be confused with the so-called assassin bugs: The bald-faced hornet, the yellow bee and the similarly named eastern cicada killer; all of which are native or non-intrusive to eastern Canada, in modern times.
A comparison of the size of the Asian hornet and several other insects. (Washington State Department of Agriculture)“Fortunately, there is currently no evidence of the northern giant in Ontario,” an article on the ISC website reads.
“This means we must continue to be vigilant and work to prevent their introduction and establishment.”
U of T’s Murray points out that the cluster of wasp sightings of any kind could have a simple explanation: With excellent weather across the region on the first long weekend of summer, there may be more people outside than usual.
“They are lucky enough to come and see them, this time,” he said. “Humans behave differently when it’s nice out too.”
For more information, or if you think you’ve seen a northern harrier, you can search for your local conservation authority here.
