The latest victim of the particularly aggressive, Asian wasps was Javier I.P., a 55-year-old resident of the parish of Xustás in Lugon (Galicia).

He was out shooting partridge last Sunday in a wooded area near his home. Around 15.00h, he accidentally stepped on an Asian hornet nest, triggering an attack by the insects. Knowing he was allergic to their stings, the hunter called his brother to come with an adrenaline injection.

Despite this and the two ambulances that arrived, nothing could be done to save his life. “It all happened very quickly,” lamented the Mayor of Cospeito, the town where the incident occurred.

A few days earlier, on October the 15th, Ramón José Dopico Martínez, Councilor for Rural Affairs & Forestry in the municipality of Irixoa in A Coruña (Galicia) , was attacked by Asian hornets while clearing brush with a tractor in Teixeiro. He was stung on the head and neck, which caused anaphylactic shock that proved fatal. He was 76 years old.

A day earlier, a 79-year-old resident of the Dozón (Pontevedra, Galicia) was working in the fields when he stumbled upon a swarm of Asian hornets on the ground. The man’s screams alerted neighbours, who rushed to his aid. Again, it was too late.

“Being stung by an Asian hornet is relatively common,” considers entomologist Mikel Bengoa, downplayng these attack, stating, “You’re more likely to win a first, second, third, fourth, or fifth prize in the lottery than to be killed by an insect sting like a wasp, a bee, or an Asian hornet.”

However, he added, “They are especially aggressive compared to other wasps we have here, such as the Polistes dominula, which builds small nests, and the Vespula germanica, which builds larger ones. They are also more aggressive than the European hornet. Furthermore, their venom is more potent, and they have the ability to squirt acid in self-defense.”

The sting of this invasive species isn’t dangerous unless you’re allergic. “The only problem is the pain and swelling they can cause.” Otherwise, there’s hardly any time to react. “Approximately thirty minutes. If many wasps have attacked, even less,” says Félix Méjica, Chairman of the Association for the Defense of Bees in Asturias (Adapas).

The Asturian specialist explains that these insects, which are twice the size of native wasps, “can settle practically anywhere, which is why they are so dangerous and why we emphasise caution so much.”

They have been found in attics, roof eaves, electrical meters, beehives, trees, and, as in Galicia, on the ground or at low heights.

(News: Galicia, Spain)

Keywords: Asian Wasp, Deaths, Allergic

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Reader’s comment: “These Asian hornets pose a major problem and have spread right across Europe now. A number of nests have recently been found in Ireland. One of the biggest problems they pose is that they are ravenous eaters of indigenous bees in countries where they have been found. There is an effort in both Ireland and the UK (and maybe more countries) to find their nests and destroy them.” – John Ashley