Entomologist: Invasive hornets sting multiple times with 'a lot of venom'

These hornets on the hunt for honey bees are a buzzkill in more ways than one. 

Agriculture’s Biosecurity Division warned the community to bee-ware of the greater banded hornet as its sting can be un-bee-lievably painful. 

“These hornets do give a powerful sting injecting a lot of venom and they sting multiple times. That’s the danger in these hornets,” said State Entomologist, Chris Rosario 

Rosario said their long stingers can pierce clothes and even a beekeeper’s suit. 

“And you’re not just dealing with one hornet, but probably thousands of hornets that will swarm around you,” said Rosario.  

Rosario and his colleague caught two hornets during the interview with KUAM at local beekeeper Jen Nelson’s apiary in Ipan, Talo’fo’fo. 

“We’re coming twice a day. We’re coming in the morning and the afternoon to check on the hive and kill any hornets that we can find. It’s a temporary solution. The real solution is finding a hornet’s nest and killing it at the source,” said Nelson. 

The hornet is an aggressive species of wasps not native to Guam. 

It was first discovered on the island in 2016 inside a rotting avocado tree in a backyard in Tumon. 

Efforts now concentrated on control and management. 

“The more hornets' nests that we do kill, the more bee colonies that we save, especially the managed bee colonies because the local beekeepers are the ones putting our local honey out on the market,” said Rosario. 

Rosario says the USDA funded Guam about $95k to hire a technician to come out and collect samples of the hornets. 

He added the Government of Guam is hiring an invasive species coordinator to update the Guam Invasive Species Management Plan. 

Meantime for anyone who sees a nest, Rosario said, “Just call the pest hotline at 475-7378 or 475-PEST.”