Scientists Find First ‘Murder Hornet’ of 2021 in US

 

Scientists near Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington say they have found the first ‘Murder Hornet' of 2021.

The stinging² insects are actually called Asian giant hornets.

They gained a lot of attention on social media in the spring of 2020 when people reacted to their arrival as another sign of a strange year already marked by the COVID-19 health crisis³.

The 5-centimeter-long insects do not belong in North America. They are considered invasive. They are also the largest hornets in the world.

They can kill smaller honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops. The hornets got their nickname⁴ because they kill the bees by cutting their heads off.

Scientists who study insects are known as entomologists. They say the discovery is the first of the year and not related to the hornets found in 2019 and 2020 closer to Canada.

However, the insect experts said the hornet was dried out and is probably left over from an earlier season. The hornet is male, and the scientists said male hornets do not usually show up until July.

Dr. Osama El-Lissy works to expel⁵ invasive species⁶ for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He called the discovery "perplexing⁷."

It is not known how the hornet got to the town of Marysville, about 50 kilometers north of Seattle.

Entomologists say the hornets are "hitchhikers." They probably come across the Pacific Ocean on ships carrying goods or crops.

Sven Spichiger is an entomologist for the state. He called the hornets' arrival in North America a "side effect" of international trade.

Scientists looked at the insect for the first time on June 8 and confirmed it was one of the giant hornets on June 11.

They are now trying to find out if a group of insects is living closer to Seattle than they had thought.

The experts said the hornet does not look like the ones found in 2019 and 2020. Those had orange coloring around the middle part of their bodies. They believe this hornet came from a country in southern Asia.

The entomologists will set up traps in the area and ask people to look out for the insects.

The hornets are on the USDA list of harmful insect pests which means the state is permitted to kill them.

Spichiger said he and the other scientists never would have found the hornet without the help of regular people living in the area.

Words in This Story

sting¹ - v. (of an insect, plant or animal) to hurt by cutting into the skin with a sharp, pointed⁹ part that usually contains poison

pollinate –v. to carry pollen¹⁰ from one plant to another so that plants of the same kind can produce fruit or vegetables

nickname- n. a name that is different from a person's real name that is used by their family or friends

perplexing –adj. difficult to understand

hitch⁸ hiker –n. someone who gets a ride on a passing vehicle by standing¹¹ on the side of the road and signaling to passing drivers

regular –adj. normal, not special or unusual

1 sting   

vt.激怒，刺痛，刺伤，蛰伤；n.刺痛，刺伤

参考例句：

• Most flies do not sting.大多数苍蝇不叮人。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

2 stinging   

刺一样的，刺人的，激烈的

参考例句：

• My eyes are stinging from the smoke. 我眼睛被烟熏的疼痛。
• On September 24, he wrote a stinging denunciation of his critics. 9月24号，他写了一篇痛斥那些批评者的措词强烈的文章。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

5 expel   

vt.把...开除，驱逐，放逐，排出，喷出

参考例句：

• They were told at first that they should simply expel the refugees.一开始有人告诉他们应该直接将那些难民驱逐出境。
• The headmaster may expel the boy from the school.校长可能要把那个男孩从学校开除。

6 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

7 perplexing   

adj.使人困惑的；令人费解的

参考例句：

• This might seem very perplexing to those who know nothing about it. 这对那些对它一无所知的人来说可能显得很难理解。
• The warmth and friendliness he felt toward him now were perplexing. 他不明白这会儿对他这样亲切这样友好。

8 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。