Buzzworthy
Family’s ‘murder hornet’ actually a cicada killer
A Columbia County family was shocked to see an extremely large wasp flying around after reports of the “murder hornet” reaching the United States became national news recently.
Willie and Mary Champ, along with some family members, were enjoying a cool afternoon on their front porch when their daughter, Ann Johnson, noticed the huge wasp buzzing around. She managed to swat the insect before taking a few pictures.
“Is it one of those murder hornets? We Googled it. It looks just like one of them,” Johnson said in a text message to the Banner-News. Her mother wanted to know for certain and prayed others were not flying around.
“Do you think that dust blew them down here?” asked Champ, referring to the the west Africa Sahara dust that reached the United States last month.
But according to University of Arkansas Professor of Entomology Don Steinkraus, “This is definitely NOT a murder hornet.”
After looking at the insect pictures that were emailed to him, Steinkraus said it's a native wasp called a cicada killer.
“Cicada killer wasps are large, and do resemble a murder hornet a bit, especially to the untrained eye,” he said.
Steinkraus said, “Cicada killers are not hornets, but wasps that specialize in capturing cicadas, bringing them back to a tunnel they make in the soil, then laying an egg on the paralyzed cicada, and their larva eats the cicada, then pupates in the soil, and emerges the following spring to continue the life cycle.”
According to the entomologist, only the females capture cicadas using their sting to paralyze the cicada.
“Female cicada killers can sting a person, if the person is foolish enough to pick it up with their bare hands, but they do not want to sting us. Their sting is not that bad, about like a honey bee sting,” he said. “If a person is stung by one and they are hyperallergic to wasp stings, then they might need to seek medical attention, but otherwise, not. I do not know of anyone who has ever been stung by a cicada killer. Most people are smart enough not to pick one up.”
The expert said there is no proof that the “murder hornet” is anywhere in the U.S. other than Washington state and it's very unlikely the hornet will make its way to Arkansas anytime soon.
“That is a bad name for it, but someone made the name up and it scares you,” he said.
Steinkraus said the so-called “murder hornets” are actually Asian giant hornets, which comes from Japan, China and Southeast Asia, which somehow made its way to Washington state and British Columbia, Canada.
“There have not been a lot of them seen. It's the biggest hornet in the world, so it's about two inches long…very big, very potent, very tough little creature,” he said.
“As of this date, the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, has not been found in Arkansas, and I do not expect that it will be, for many years, if ever,” he said, adding “It is good for the public to keep their eye open for very large wasps. Better to photograph them than to kill them.”
Steinkraus said, “The cicada killer is part our natural wildlife and if I had them nesting in my yard, I would not kill them. I would just avoid picking them up, or stepping on them with bare feet.”
Again, referring to the so-called murder hornet, he noted, “It might be years before they ever make their way here and that's a prediction. I would guess 10 … My guess is, if they made it here, one or two people a year might be infected by them.”