'Murder hornet' mania highlights dangers of fearing insects and spiders

“Kill it with fire,” some wrote on Twitter; others declared it would “haunt your dreams.” Many headlines also called the insect, which likely poses no danger to people, a “nightmare bee” or a terrifying sight.Wallace’s giant bee is extremely rare, threatened by collectors, and poses no threat to people.Then the “murder hornet” mania began.In late 2019, Asian giant hornets, the world’s largest wasps, showed up in southern British Columbia and the northwestern corner of Washington State. For example, internet searches for “hornet spray” and various insecticides jumped compared with a year prior, and insect experts around the country have been deluged by calls about the species.Many harmless bees and hornets around the country have probably been killed due to unfounded fears about murder hornets, says Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.The stories of these two different species reveal a significant lack of public knowledge about insects, says Jeffrey Lockwood, an entomologist and professor of natural sciences and humanities at the University of Wyoming.In the United States, especially, “we've become incredibly entomologically dumb,” says Lockwood, who wrote The Infested Minded: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects.