State eyes possibility of ‘murder hornets’
Experts say beekeepers should not fear threat of pest native to Japan
A large, “murder hornet” destroying a bee colony is the stuff of nightmares for beekeeper Keith Seifert Jr.
But even though the Asian giant hornet has gained national headlines with its notorious moniker and a reputation for hunting honeybees, it has not been found in Florida yet or terrorized the state’s already besieged beekeepers.
“I would like people to understand we have far greater problems with the honeybees right now,” said Seifert, who owns Sweet Bee Honey Farm in Sorrento.
Still, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is looking out for the murder hornet during inspections to help protect the vital role bees play in the economy and agriculture. The
state’s bees pollinate a variety of crops, from Florida blueberries to California almonds.
And, no, the bees don’t fly themselves to the West Coast. Seifert said his bees are shipped there by truck.
“Early detection is key to stopping the spread and establishment of any pest or disease,” said Brandi Stanford, assistant bureau chief of the department’s apiary inspection section.
The hornets, native to Japan and typically a hefty 1.5 to 2 inches in length, were found in the United States last fall in Blaine, Wash. They eat honeybees for protein, according to the University of Florida.
Even though the pests haven’t been found elsewhere in the country, they have still received a lot of buzz as something else to worry about during the coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times said the hornets kill up to 50 people a year in Japan in a story earlier this month headlined, “‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet.”
In another story, The New York Times said they were known for their “aggression and excruciating sting.”
Still, there is a slim chance the murder hornets will find their way to Florida as they have only been found in Washington State last year in the United States, said Amy Vu, extension coordinator at UF’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory in Gainesville.
“Florida beekeepers don’t need to be worried at all,” Vu said.
No need to guard hives
UF is not recommending Florida beekeepers guard their hives but anyone encountering the hornets can use half-inch screens to keep them out of their hives.
The university also notes any stinging insect can cause medical issues for humans, something that’s not unique to this kind of hornet.
In fact, between 2000 and 2017 more than 1,100 residents of the United States died from hornet, wasp and bee stings, for an annual average of 62 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States has a much greater population, however, of about 330 million people compared with Japan’s 125.5 million.
Florida has been aware of the pests for “quite a long time,” Stanford said. The state’s apiary inspection team looks for the hornets, educates beekeepers about them, and responds to possible sightings.
None of the reported sightings in Florida so far have turned out to be the murder hornet. Other insects are often mistaken for them, including yellow jackets and other kinds of hornets.
“We have worked on collaborative trapping programs with other states for this species and have done significant outreach focused on this pest,” Stanford said.
The work has helped the state get the word out to beekeepers, who play a key role in pollinating crops across the country. For instance, more than 250,000 colonies are shipped each year from Florida to almond growers in California, Stanford said.
“Without beekeepers and the pollination services their hives provide to growers in the U.S., we would lose a significant yield from many crops, including blueberries, watermelons, zucchinis, and almonds, to name a few, which would cause food prices to rise as the supply would diminish,” Stanford said.
A ‘nightmare’ that’s already here
Seifert, owner of Sweet Bee Honey
Farm, has about 1,200 beehives that he moves around to pollinate different plants. He said the biggest threat to his bees is a pest completely different from the murder hornet: the Varroa mite.
“They’re like a large vampire tick,” Seifert said, adding they “suck the fat right out of bees.
“We lose roughly 40% of our colonies every year.”
The mite chews “a hole in and feeds on the individual bees,” damaging their immune system, Stanford said. They can also transmit viruses that can lead to “rapid colony loss.”
“Accurate estimates of the effect of Varroa on the apiculture industry are hard to find, but it is safe to assume that the mites have killed hundreds of thousands of colonies worldwide, resulting in billions of dollars of economic loss,” a paper from UF states.
Even if the murder hornets do come to Florida, the Varroa mites would still be the issue, Vu said.
“We have a real life nightmare situation going on that we’ve been dealing with for the past 20 years or 30 years,” Seifert said.