'Murder Hornets' May Never Make Their Way to Michigan

Good news, everyone! It appears that while "murder hornets" have made their way to the U.S., it's likely that it will take years before they get to Michigan, if they make it here at all.

FOX-17 spoke to board certified entomologist Mark VanderWerp from Rose Pest Solutions and he gave some insight into the insects, what makes them murderous, and the likelihood of them making their way to the Mitten State.

Some important things to note about these hornets:

They have venom that can kill a human. But, they would have to sting that person multiple times in order for the venom to be fatal.
They mostly want to kill bees. Which is a problem because, well, bees are an important part of our ecosystem.
Their real name is "Vespa mandarinia".
They are generally between 1.5 and 2 inches long.
They can kill one honeybee every 14 seconds.

VandenWerp told FOX-17 that while the hornets have made their way to the U.S. (Washington state, specifically),

As far as us in the Great Lakes region, we really don't have anything to worry about for the foreseeable future. So even if this thing does establish in the western US, it will be many, many years before we see them over here.

So, that's good news for us.

VandenWerp also told FOX-17 that now is kind of the prime time for eradicating, which means that they would never get to Michigan (or the Midwest) at all.

Also of note, according to the interview with FOX-17, you may see some giant bugs in your backyard that aren't murder hornets. The Eastern Cicada killer is also a giant insect that looks similar to the murder hornets, but pose no threat to humans.

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