{"679012":{"#nid":"679012","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u2018Murder Hornet\u2019 Eradication is Relief to US Honeybees","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFive years after the headline-grabbing \u201cmurder hornet\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EVespa mandarinia\u003C\/em\u003E, renamed the northern giant hornet in 2022) was first spotted in Washington state, the U.S. has declared the invasive species eradicated. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Washington State Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture made the announcement Wednesday. It follows three years without a confirmed detection of the hornet. Four nests were destroyed in 2020 and 2021. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the number of nests was low, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.goodismanlab.biology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EProfessor Mike Goodisman\u003C\/a\u003E, whose lab \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/16\/genome-sequencing-could-unlock-answers-yellow-jacket-behavior\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Estudies social insects\u003C\/a\u003E and invasive species, explains that had the number grown, eradication would have been increasingly unlikely due to the potential exponential growth of the population. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Each nest is started by a new queen. One new queen can start a new nest, but the colony she produces can produce 100 new nests. Because of how they reproduce, it could grow from 100 to 10,000 the year after that, and then from 10,000 to one million.\u0022 \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGoodisman says that social insects are more difficult to eradicate. However, traps and tracking methods allowed officials to contain the population in the Pacific Northwest. While the murder hornet is not the only invasive hornet species in North America, its threat to the already-declining honeybee population spurred action. Murder hornets can clear out a honeybee hive in 90 minutes, and Goodisman says the brutality of these attacks earned the northern giant hornet their nickname and is instantly recognizable. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022When murder hornets attack a honeybee colony, you\u0027ll find hundreds to thousands of decapitated honeybees,\u0022 he said, adding that although murder hornets eat a variety of insects, they \u0022have a taste for honeybees.\u0022 \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the murder hornet\u0027s native Asia, the honeybee population has developed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/UNroEwFxh6I?feature=shared\u0026amp;t=169\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ea defense mechanism\u003C\/a\u003E to swarm and surround the attacking hornet, but North American honeybees are defenseless. This elevates the threat of a possible invasion, with the potential for a widespread impact on our food supply. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022A threat to the honeybee population would be a commercial disaster,\u0022 Goodisman said. \u0022Honeybees are critical in agriculture for pollinating a great variety of the foods we eat, and if we don\u0027t have these pollinators, then we wouldn\u0027t have many of the foods \u2014 fruits especially \u2014 that we are used to.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe eradication of the hornet is a significant achievement, but Goodisman says it\u0027s not a foregone conclusion that they will not reemerge. Because social insects, like murder hornets, can hibernate in various materials, cargo ships and other commercial transportation can unknowingly bring invasive species worldwide. He explains that officials will continue to set traps and employ additional tracking methods to ensure the population remains eradicated in the U.S.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf murder hornets come back, humans are not at immediate risk. Like the bald-faced hornet and the true hornet, which live in Georgia, murder hornets typically leave humans alone unless provoked, Goodisman says, but their larger-than-normal stingers cause more pain and are more harmful to small animals. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech professor says eradicating the \u201cmurder hornet\u201d will help the U.S. avoid a potential agricultural and commercial disaster.     "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech professor says eradicating the \u201cmurder hornet\u201d will help the U.S. avoid a potential agricultural and commercial disaster. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech professor says eradicating the \u201cmurder hornet\u201d will help the U.S. avoid a potential agricultural and commercial disaster.     "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2024-12-19 22:40:48","changed_gmt":"2024-12-20 14:01:12","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2024-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675901":{"id":"675901","type":"image","title":"Northern Giant Murder Hornet ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA Northern Giant Hornet removed from a nest. Photo courtesy: Washington Department of Agriculture.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1734703193","gmt_created":"2024-12-20 13:59:53","changed":"1734703210","gmt_changed":"2024-12-20 14:00:10","alt":"Murder Hornet","file":{"fid":"259575","name":"AGHNestAndRemovalAug2021 (25 of 107).jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/12\/19\/AGHNestAndRemovalAug2021%20%2825%20of%20107%29.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/12\/19\/AGHNestAndRemovalAug2021%20%2825%20of%20107%29.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4963104,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/12\/19\/AGHNestAndRemovalAug2021%20%2825%20of%20107%29.jpg?itok=ejYRnuwO"}}},"media_ids":["675901"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.goodismanlab.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"Goodisman Research Group"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"173881","name":"Honeybee"},{"id":"1909","name":"Yellow Jacket"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E - Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}