Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

axios.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 398 posts

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#101

Post by yawz »

I’m a beekeeper and every passing year it becomes harder to keep my colonies alive. I’m really glad that we’re taking this threat seriously, because we don’t need one more problem on our list of things that kill our bees.

While I’m at it, please allow me to remind everyone that there are thousands of solitary bee species in the world. They are the ones that go extinct or in real danger compared to our honey bees. There are many struggling beekeepers like me in the world, and we’re doing our best to keep our bees alive. But thousands of species are without keepers and they are dying. Please be gentle to the nature. Let them live.

(Edit: wondering how you can help, here's what I humbly suggested below in another comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24889023)

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#102

Post by TulliusCicero »

11235813213455 wrote: post #99
TulliusCicero wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know bees are fundamental but I think we should adjust ourselves along with nature, and not try to always dictate things. Nature? You realize this almost certainly happened because of international travel/trade, right?

> "this happened" You mean hornets? Of course I know, but we can still adapt our consumption mode, honeybees are for what? honey mostly. We can also reduce planes travel, that wouldn't hurt as well

> You mean hornets?

No, I mean this specific species of hornet suddenly appearing thousands of kilometers away. That wasn't nature, that was mankind's intervention.

Getting rid of them is hardly us 'dictating' things, it's restoring the natural order.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#103

Post by Davidzheng »

praptak wrote: post #57

"Washington State Department of Agriculture workers, illuminated by red lamps, vacuum a nest of Asian giant hornets from a tree in Blaine" Interesting. Why do they use red lamps?

I think hornets probably don't react to red light. I think bee researchers also use red lights in labs when extracting bees so they don't become active in the presence of light.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#104

Post by supernova87a »

bloak wrote: post #54
samcheng wrote: post #5

I've never had to deal with a murder hornet infestation, but I can approve of their 'vacuum' method for clearing yellowjacket nests in high-traffic areas. Partially fill a shop vac with soapy water, stick the nozzle as close to the nest entrance as possible, then turn on the vacuum and hear the wasps get sucked into the machine as they try to enter or exit the nest. It takes a few hours, and potentially a couple of s…

I'm no expert, but I've read a bit about Vespula vulgaris (the most common sort of wasp in the UK) and tackled a few nests in the past. My impression is that if you put a vacuum cleaner next to the entrance you may, if you're lucky, catch nearly all the wasps that leave the nest, but the queen never leaves the nest, and the eggs and larvae don't leave the nest, and I think there may also be some workers that stay in…

Isn't that when you finish it off by pouring 10 pounds of molten aluminum down the hole?

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#105

Post by RyanOD »

yawz wrote: post #101

I’m a beekeeper and every passing year it becomes harder to keep my colonies alive. I’m really glad that we’re taking this threat seriously, because we don’t need one more problem on our list of things that kill our bees. While I’m at it, please allow me to remind everyone that there are thousands of solitary bee species in the world. They are the ones that go extinct or in real danger compared to our honey bees. The…

In addition, do what you can to support bees. Here are some simple suggestions from Nat Geo.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/05/150524-bees-...

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#106

Post by seattle_spring »

jameshart wrote: post #67
anm89 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are living, shitting, and dying en masse on the streets of LA who need food and basic sanitation but you really can't even imagine a non malicious interpretation of someone saying paying for teams of bubble suited wasp chasers seems like potentially a misallocation of resources? Or do you just generally like to bully anyone who challenges any form of government spending by attacking strawmen?

I am all ears for how we could solve homelessness in LA by defunding the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s entomology program. Maybe you’re right, though - the progressive militarization of state pest control departments during the global war on terror is probably one of the principal ways in which inequality is perpetuated in this country.

Make Agriculture's entomology program Great Again?

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#107

Post by anm89 »

dang wrote: post #74
anm89 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are living, shitting, and dying en masse on the streets of LA who need food and basic sanitation but you really can't even imagine a non malicious interpretation of someone saying paying for teams of bubble suited wasp chasers seems like potentially a misallocation of resources? Or do you just generally like to bully anyone who challenges any form of government spending by attacking strawmen?

Personal attacks are not allowed on HN, regardless of how bad another comment is or you feel it is. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules when posting here, we'd be grateful.

Ok. Will do.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#108

Post by roughly »

yawz wrote: post #101

I’m a beekeeper and every passing year it becomes harder to keep my colonies alive. I’m really glad that we’re taking this threat seriously, because we don’t need one more problem on our list of things that kill our bees. While I’m at it, please allow me to remind everyone that there are thousands of solitary bee species in the world. They are the ones that go extinct or in real danger compared to our honey bees. The…

I've read a number of articles describing the stressors on bee colonies, but I'm interested in your take - what do you see as the primary factors affecting your colonies?

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#109

Post by macintux »

11235813213455 wrote: post #71

I know bees are fundamental but I think we should adjust ourselves along with nature, and not try to always dictate things. We can live without honey, eat fruits instead (for which wasps and hornets participate also in pollination), they even provide better nutrients

Ignoring the threat that these hornets pose to people, standing back and allowing our honeybee population to be wiped out would have incalculable effects across the ecosystem.

They're a major pollinator. Sure, there are others, but why would we risk adding more catastrophe when we've already wiped out such a huge number of insects?

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#110

Post by Klinky »

luckman212 wrote: post #66
Klinky wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're cooking anything with meat or imported produce, you're still damaging the environment, regardless of where it's cooked. Also your leftovers need to be put into something(often plastic) and stored in a refrigerated or frozen environment(electric/carbon costs), then reheated(electric/carbon cost). If you get tired of eating the same thing after 3 days and the rest rots away in your fridge, you've just created…

You make some thought provoking points, but there are a lot of "ifs" there. So, even a chance that some savings might be achieved by cooking staple foods at home once in a while seems worth considering. Most people end up leaving a lot on the table when eating out, and 100% of that food ends up in the trash / wasted.

If you want to save money then cooking bulk foods at home might make sense, people just need to make sure they're really calculating the costs properly. If you want a balanced diet and varied menu, then it can be expensive and labor intensive.

If you want to save the environment, then you should reconsider your whole diet. Reduce meat intake and make smaller meals with more environmentally conscious ingredients(likely more expensive).

Regarding leftovers, plenty of people put restaurant leftovers in a container and take them home to eat later. The people who don't would likely waste food at home too.

Post reply on HN