| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Japanese honeybees learned how to ‘cook' murder hornet: report |
| 2020-05-04 |
[FoxNews] Deadly hornets from Asia that measure up to 2 inches long and can wipe out entire honey bee colonies within hours have been spotted for the first time in the U.S. These so-called Japanese giant hornet represent a threat to the honeybee population. The hornets-which have been blamed for 50 deaths a year in Japan, have been spotted in Washington, and according to the New York Times, can rip through a hive, killing a bee every 14 seconds. But researchers found an interesting defense that Japanese honeybees have employed against the larger opponent. Bees in Japan have been known to form a ball around the invader and vibrate to produce heat that essentially can cook a hornet to death. The report said bees can survive in extreme temperatures and can kill a hornet in an hour. The Times reported that European honeybees which are common in the U.S. try to sting the hornet, which proves futile due to their tough exoskeleton. A researcher told the paper that the Japanese honeybee learned to adapt through generations. This is worrisome. Having never worked with Japanese honey bees (Apis cerana japonica), their response is fascinating. |
| Posted by:Woodrow |
| #7 It took almost 80 years for Brother Adam, the Benedictine Monk at Buckfast Abbey to come up with his bees. If these yellows do get to be a problem I'll be putting on hive entrance excluders. There is no way those large hornets could fit through. I'm almost more concerned about the number of Japanese that have been killed by these bastards. And there stingers have no problem penetrating our bee gear. Ouch! |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2020-05-04 16:18 |
| #6 Sorry, links. We have had the African Killer Bees in Minnesota but they don't overwinter well. As far as our bee breeds. We could attempt to breed in this behavior but it would take decades. We have yet to breed a fully consistant varroa destructor mite hygienic Queens. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2020-05-04 16:18 |
| #5 fixed |
| Posted by: Frank G 2020-05-04 12:16 |
| #4 Need mod to remove rantburg.com from the above urls, (there's more than one links with this error in main articles and comments.) Thanks. Proper link is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_giant_hornet |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2020-05-04 11:55 |
| #3 killer bees from the south border, they have been found from Tx to Calif within a few hundred miles of the border w Mexico Murder Hornets have been found in the NW near the border w Canada. So basically, it is a just about time for a made for TV Murder Hornet vs Killer Bee movie. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2020-05-04 11:28 |
| #2 Funny how the African Killer Bees never arrived. Now we have trouble from Asia the deadly bees are coming from Asia as well. Its like the media has zero imagination when they come up with their scare stories. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2020-05-04 10:44 |
| #1 Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. |
| Posted by: Lex 2020-05-04 09:13 |