NYPD’s Bee Unit readies for coming ‘murder hornet’ invasion of East Coast

THE NYPD’s Bee Unit is preparing for Asian “murder hornets” to invade the East Coast, as the insects prey on bees and pose a threat to an already threatened population.

In addition to having the potential to kill humans, “murder hornets” also are a threat to honey bees, and can destroy an entire hive.

AP:Associated Press

Honeybees cover a bike in NYC as Detective Daniel Higgins begins removing the insects[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Asian hornets pose a threat to honeybee hives[/caption]

“I go not into panic mode but into preparation mode,” Officer Darren Mays told Pix11.

“If it was to come here, it would be via transport,” he added of the hornets.

Native to south-east Asia, the hornets kill around 50 humans each year.

Asian hornets were spotted for the first time last year in Washington, and the state’s Department of Agriculture is working to halt the species from nesting and breeding in the state and Canada.

In addition to killing around 50 humans a year, the hornets also pose a threat to bee hives.

Washington’s Department of Agriculture said in a blog post: “A few hornets can destroy a hive in a matter of hours.”

“The hornets enter a ‘slaughter phase’ where they kill bees by decapitating them.

“They then defend the hive as their own, taking the brood to feed their own young,” the post added.

PIX 11

Officer Darren Mays told the Pix11 that the NYPD is preparing for Asian hornets if they come to the East Coast[/caption]

AFP or licensors

A close-up of an Asian hornet[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

A swarm of bees cover the umbrella of a hotdog cart in Times Square in New York City[/caption]

The US Department of Agriculture has said that the “murder hornets” could still establish a presence in the mainland US states, so officials as far as the East Coast are buckling up to save the bees.

Mays advised that if people spot the hornets, they should leave them alone.

“Don’t be curious just let them be,” he told Pix11.

“It’s not going to go out of its way and sting you purposefully.”

New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s Forest Health Section told Pix11 if the hornets came to the state, it would work with the Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Nathaniel ‘Coyote’ Peterson, host of YouTube show Brave Wilderness, showed the “searing pain” of the hornet’s sting in a video.

Although the hornets pose a threat to hives, one species has found a way to save itself from the predators.

Japanese honeybees launch a counter-attack on the hornets, forming into “hot defensive bee balls” around the predator and overheating it until it dies.

Video also shows how a praying mantis can destroy a “murder hornet” in a matter of seconds.