Just when we thought America 2020 had reached peak WTF with a global pandemic and economic crisis, some cosmic force somewhere screamed “RELEASE THE MURDER HORNETS!” and here we are on a whole new level.
Giant Japanese Hornets, affectionately called ‘murder hornets’ for their ability to decapitate 40 honeybees per minute with their gigantic murder mandibles, have arrived in the U.S. And in my home state of Washington no less. Isn’t that JUST PEACHY?
Now that we have this nice little distraction from the doom and gloom of viral illness and death, let’s lean into it, shall we? I want to see what these murder hornets can do to me. Like, how concerned should I be about running into one of these things?
Thankfully, someone has taken one for the team already. Coyote Peterson is the star of a YouTube channel called “Brave Wilderness,” and one of his signature moves is getting stung and bit by the world’s most infamous insects on purpose. A little nutty? For sure. Dramatic much? Um, yes. But surprisingly educational and entertaining? Absolutely.
The first part of the video gives some interesting info about the hornet, but if you’re just dying to see the sting and the aftermath, that starts around the 11:20 mark.
Peterson actually endured the murder hornet’s sting two years ago as part of his quest to find out what insect has the most painful sting. For the record, the murder hornet sting is bad—like, really really bad—but it’s not the worst in the world. That title goes to the Executioner Wasp (what the heck with these names???). Nevertheless, it doesn’t look like fun to get stung by a murder hornet. Watch and see.
Thankfully, these hornets are not very aggressive with humans, as long as you don’t provoke them. But I still hope they figure out how to eradicate these suckers in the U.S. Things are already bizarre and terrifying enough around here.
