Asian Hornets

You will know when you see one of these because it will be carrying off your Chihuahua in it jaws... OK, that's an exaggeration but they are big!

SPN Asian HornetIt was back in 2004 when this kind of hornet, whose Latin name is Nasticus Bastardii, was first seen in Europe; specifically, in France. As it has a penchant for munching through bees it’s considered a serious threat to the equilibrium of the ecosystem.

But it is not only tasty looking bees that they have their compound peepers on the look out for because they don’t think twice about attacking lumbering humans who stupidly stray upon one of their nests. In fact, they display the belligerence of an alcoholic Glaswegian midget.

They might snack on butterflies, beetles and ants (hornets, not Glaswegian midgets) but there’s nothing tastier than the inhabitants of a beehive, unfortunately.

In Spain, thanks to cheap package tours for 6-legged bee scoffers, they have been found in País Vasco, Navarra, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia and Cataluña. Fortunately, they’re too snobby to go for the likes of Andalucia and are confused by the accent and noisy children. OK, so it has more to do with the climate down here rather than a vacational choice of destination.

The Sociedad Española de Alergología e Inmunología Clínica says that each year there are between four and five deaths because of this kind of sting. They didn’t point out that perhaps more people die of common bee stings because they are allergic to them, but let’s not ruin a good horror story.

So, what can we do about them? Well, don’t look at me because I am allergic to bee stings and would probably pop, messily, if stung by one of these flying felons. No, there are three steps that don’t involve exploding publishers and they are: the elimination of nests by professionals, which does not involve sending in your mother-in-law with a yard broom… or does it?

The next step is protecting hives by installing traps within or netting with holes too small for Asian Hornets and the third step if the other two fail, is mass emigration to somewhere cold, overcast and miserable… Any thoughts?

(News/Noticias: Spain)

  2 comments for “Asian Hornets

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *