It’s been nearly three years since the Asian giant hornet made its terrifying debut in the U.S. This yellow and black insect, about the size of two stacked hockey pucks, earned itself the moniker “murder hornet” thanks to its ravenous appetite for honey bee larvae. Eradication efforts have been lackluster as scientists work to pinpoint where these hornets set up shop and what attracts them.
As it turns out, sex just might be the answer.
In a new study published March 14 in the journal Current Biology, a group of researchers in California and China uncovered the key ingredients that make up the pheromones of the Asian giant hornet queen and the role they play in the species’ reproductive habits. The new findings could lead to a solution that snips a hornet’s line of succession right before the queen and her male underlings can do the deed—meaning we might finally have an effective way to trap these invasive insects and prevent them from wreaking more havoc on honeybees and crops.
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