Asian ‘murder hornet’ invasion coming to the East Coast and is ‘absolutely’ a danger to humans, expert says

A MURDER hornet invasion on the East Coast is only a matter of time, experts say.

The Asian insect – a massive wasp with a potentially deadly sting that feels like “hot metal into skin” – was recently discovered in the US for the first time, in Washington State.

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Experts say the ‘murder hornet’ is bound to invade the East Coast[/caption]

“[It] could be years before they make a foothold [on the East Coast] — or they could end up in the back of somebody’s truck and be here in four days,” Manhattan beekeeper Andrew Cote told the New York Post.

“We can expect them to be everywhere on the continent in time. … It’s a done deal,” Cote said. “There’s no way to contain it to the West Coast.”

Describing the carnivorous two-inch insects, which kill about 50 people a year in their native Japan, as “extraordinarily aggressive,” Cote said he fears for America’s bee populations because murder hornets “can decimate a honey bee colony.”

“[The murder hornet] decapitates and consumes part of the honey bee. The prospect of my defenceless bees having to confront them sends chills up my spine.”

Murder hornets, which can fly 20 miles per hour, also pose a threat to people. They contain a neurotoxin capable of causing both cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock.

It can kill in just a single sting.

New York City Beekeeper Anthony “Tony Bees” Planakis told the publication they are a threat to humans.

“Absolutely. Oh my God. Have you seen the mandibles on these things?”

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A murder hornet’s sting can be lethal for humans[/caption]

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A murder hornet sting has been described as feeling like “hot metal into skin”[/caption]

Conrad Bérubé, a beekeeper and entomologist in the town of Nanaimo in Vancouver Island, said he was stung in the leg and through his bee suit by a killer hornet in November.

“It was like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh,” he told The New York Times.

The hornet looks fierce with a face featuring Spider-Man like eyes, orange and black stripes that extend down its body like a tiger, and wings like a dragonfly.

The unwelcome invaders are expected to be much more active now that Spring is here and summer approaches.

Scientists don’t know how they ended up in Washington state, but they’ve been previously seen in Canada.

Experts believe that they are sometimes transported in international cargo, in some cases deliberately.

The giant hornet was first spotted in the state in December, and scientists believe it started becoming active again in April when queens emerge from hibernation to build nests and form colonies.

Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture, told the NYT the US invasion is a “serious problem”.

“This is our window to keep it from establishing,” he said.

“If we can’t do it in the next couple of years, it probably can’t be done.”

Asian giant hornets nest in the ground for most of the year, but are most active between July and November.