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There are no confirmed reports of the large pest’s presence anywhere else in North America but in Washington State and British Columbia – and those were from last year, said Professor Dina M. Fonseca, director of the Center for Vector Biology in the Department of Entomology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
The Asian giant hornet (vespa mandarinia) "has not yet been detected this spring and we do not expect them on the East Coast,” Fonseca said in a report published Wednesday.
“We do not know how the species arrived in the United States,” Fonseca added, “but it is important to not overreact. The Asian giant hornet is unlikely to be present in New Jersey.”
Ever since the first media reports began spreading, bug spray has become nearly as coveted among consumers as toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Some stores already have enacted two-can limits.
All unnecessary, the experts say.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices have received insects submitted by the public for identification, none of which turned out to be the hornets, agricultural agents Michelle Infante-Casella and William J. Bamka wrote in their report.
SEE: “Killer” Hornet NOT Found in the Northeastern U.S. (Rutgers)
The first reported Asian giant hornets in the U.S. were said to be attacking colonies of honeybees in Washington State.
Asian giant hornets “are not generally aggressive towards people but may sting when threatened," according to a Washington State University.
"You shouldn’t worry about it,” added Floyd Shockley, the entomology collections manager at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “More people die of honey bee stings in the U.S. than die annually, globally, from these hornets."
Should the hornets should somehow make it out off the Great Northwest, we'd have plenty of warning.
“It is most likely that the Asian giant hornet would first spread and be reported in surrounding areas bordering Washington State and British Columbia before any reports would occur on the East Coast,” Fonseca noted. “Knowing this information may help to calm fears when seeing other hornets and wasps.”
For instance, she said, people can easily confuse the Asian hornet with the Cicada killer wasp, which are large, have a tendency to “dive bomb” but rarely string -- or even come into contact with humans.
Fonseca urged people to do their best to avoid stinging insects but not to kill them.
"The indiscriminate killing of bees, wasps or other hornet lookalikes would be detrimental because of beneficial roles these insects provide as plant pollinators and predators of agricultural pests," she said.
“As more information emerges regarding the Asian giant hornet," Fonseca added, "it is best to pay attention to where this insect has been confirmed and how far it has spread.”
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