Over the past few years, several reports of large hornets spotted in Muskoka have been made. While there is no concrete proof that these are northern giant hornets, northern giant hornets are not indigenous to the area and can prey on honeybees.
According to the province of Ontario, northern giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia) are also known as Japanese giant hornets and have been referred to in the media as ‘murder hornets.’
They are the largest hornet species in the world and are native to temperate and tropical regions in China, Korea, Japan, and northern India.
“These hornets pose a serious threat to Ontario’s agriculture and native biodiversity, including resident bees and wasps. They can also destroy honey bee colonies in less than 24 hours,” notes the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Northern giant hornets cannot be verified without a specimen or a photograph. Identification must be confirmed by a specialist such as an entomologist or taxonomist.
Report a sighting if you see a giant wasp in your neighbourhood.
The Ministry’s site HERE has more information, including photos of the different wasps and some commonly confused species.
Below are some of the posts spotted on the Facebook site Muskoka Bulletin Board through the years.
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Garth Elliot says
These appear to be queen Yellowjackets. Larger than workers, obviously.
Yellowjackets can be extremely aggressive. Often build nests underground.
My bother and I raised some (Very Carefully!!!) as “pets” in the early 1950s. We also had pigeons, groundhogs, 7 skunks, 5 crows, and 2 red-tailed hawks…..and many types of native turtles. Pumas (a.k.a. mountain lions or cougars) frequented our farm….now covered by houses as part of Mississauga. We trained some types of red ants to attack black ant nests. At age 14 I would be up at 3:30 AM to go “ plinking “ with my .22 rifle.
Bald-faced hornets are larger than yellow jackets and black and white rather than yellow.
The native paper wasps are now being superseded by European paper wasps which are not so colourful.
The “murder hornets” should be destroyed….especially their nests -immediately. You do not want to get stung by a murder hornet! NEVER ! They may not be here yet …but trust me…they are coming …and it is our fault!