ADScientists said this week that the nest had produced hundreds of live specimens, dubbed “murder hornets” on the Internet for their painful — though rarely deadly — stings to humans. Among them were nearly 200 queens that can start colonies of their own after the winter. The honeybees that serve as the hornets’ prey are crucial to pollinating crops, Spichiger said. They followed them back to the nest, which Spichiger said was located less than 30 feet from a children’s play set. ADBefore pumping the tree with carbon dioxide and sealing it with foam cellophane, scientists managed to capture nearly 100 hornets, including two queens.

Source: Washington Post November 12, 2020 12:30 UTC