A couple of weeks ago, the Department of Agriculture in Washington State found something sinister in a dead tree. What was it?
Molly?
A squirrel nest?
Hostmaster: incorrect.
Bryan?
Ballots?
Hostmaster: incorrect.
Fluffy?
A witch's spice rack?
Hostmaster: incorrect.
Cyndi?
A homeless person's valuables.
Surely a homeless person would keep
his valuables on him.
It's dangerous out there.
Better to risk getting burgled than get mugged for a
rabbit's foot and half an Oreo, right?
Maybe he had valuables that are difficult to carry.
Like a sofa. Some hollow trees are pretty big.
Hey! Did the Dept of Ag find a homeless person
squatting in the dead tree?
Hostmaster: you guys are way off. It was murder hornets. Some private property was cleared to build on and they discovered the hornets in a dead tree.
Build your dream home in a dead tree!
Murder Hornet Glen.
What a great name for a subdivision!
Hostmaster: true. Anyway, official guys wearing chain mail hazmat suits went and took the hornets out.
I read somewhere they attached tracking
beacons on the hornets with dental floss.
I wonder how they muzzled the hornets while doing that.
They are supposedly dangerous after all.
Hostmaster: tiny stanchions, I guess. They caught a few of them and tied the radio trackers on and followed them to the nest. This is how they found out about that dead tree. They vacuumed out most of the hornets then caught the rest with a net. All 85 hornets survived the ordeal. They are keeping them for research.
What about the tree?
Hostmaster: they will cut it down and study it. They find it especially interesting because murder hornets usually nest on the ground.
Why don't they just leave them alone?
Hostmaster: they are a threat to native bees.
They only murder bees?
Hostmaster: pretty much. Their sting hurts other critters but most don't die. Only about 18 people die from murder hornet stings in Asia per year.
Asia is a big place.
They seem almost more sinister than squirrels.
This round is over.
Round 85
Fluffy/Molly 39
Bryan/Cyndi 39
I read that. I have noticed a drop/lost in the Bees around me. I try to keep Bee friendly plants around my property and I have homes for the Native Arizona Solitary Bee.
ReplyDeleteNice to see your blog pop-up.
Murder hornets are a nasty little pest.
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