The Internet is Now Terrified of Murder Hornets

As if there wasn't enough going on this year with the global pandemic and all, The New York Times reports that the Asian giant hornet, also known as the "murder hornet," has been spotted in North America for the first time. The murder hornets were spotting in Washington state in the fall of 2019. According to the article, the murder hornets "use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours," decapitating the bees inside the hive. They're also capable of killing human beings and are responsible for killing an average of 50 people in Japan each year. According to reports, their venomous stingers "make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin."

The hornets are described as having "teardrop eyes like Spider-Man, orange and black stripes that extend down its body like a tiger, and broad, wispy wings like a small dragonfly." They're already destroying beehives in Washington and could be here to stay if their migration isn't disrupted. Researchers are already considering how to keep these hornets in check before they spread throughout the continent. "This is our window to keep it from establishing," Washington state entomologist Chris Looney tells The New York Times. "If we can't do it in the next couple of years, it probably can't be done."

This news began going around on social media on Saturday and it's bringing out the gallows humor that so many people online have been clinging to deal with this year. We've gathered some of those reactions here. Keep reading to see how the internet is handling the news that murder hornets have arrived.

How are you taking the news about the murder hornets? Let us know how you feel about it in the comments section.

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