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Get to know the Asian giant hornet, or ‘murder hornet’

May 11, 2020 by Rob Williams

https://vimeo.com/417887797

Video by Texas A&M Marketing and Communication

by Olga Kuchment, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Close up of giant hornet *Vespa mandarinia japonica*

You’ve probably heard of the “murder hornet,” or Asian giant hornet, by now. It’s the world’s largest hornet. Native to Asia, it was sighted for the first time in Washington state and Canada in late 2019. Keeping these insects out of Texas is important because they are formidable predators of honey bees, which are crucial for crop pollination.

The main problem caused by this hornet, Vespa mandarinia, is that it uses honey bees as a principal food source. This level of predation could decimate Texas honey bee populations. If our bee populations decreased, crop yields would greatly suffer, as would honey production.

It’s such a potentially big problem that Gov. Greg Abbott requested a task force be mobilized to prepare Texas against the Asian giant hornet’s arrival. The team of Texas A&M AgriLife experts aims to help protect Texans, crops and honey.

Asian giant hornets are really big

The Asian giant hornet is native to many areas from Japan and South Korea to India and Pakistan. Up to 2 inches long, these insects are about a one-half inch larger than the cicada killer wasps common in Texas. A bee species that co-evolved with these hornets has a coordinated defense strategy. However, the European honey bees prevalent in Texas have no natural defense against this predator.

Like many other hornets and yellowjackets, Asian giant hornets tend to nest underground. And, like other similar species, Asian giant hornets are fiercely protective of their nests. Their painful stings are no more toxic than those of other stinging insects, but they can cause fatal allergic reactions in people already sensitive to bee stings. A standard beekeeper’s uniform does not protect against the hornets’ stings.

“A colony of honey bees with 30,000 to 50,000 workers can be killed by 15 to 30 hornets in a matter of hours,” said David Ragsdale, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and associate director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and professor in the Department of Entomology. “The hornets then occupy the hive and kill the developing larvae, using this protein-rich meal to feed their young.”

How did the hornet get to the U.S.?

How the pests ended up in Canada and Washington is not yet clear. Most hornets are workers, which cannot reproduce or start a new hive. Experts believe that ship or airplane cargo may have inadvertently transported a fertilized female hornet. That’s why a key part of the Texas response is securing state entry points for cargo transportation.

The strategy includes preparing Customs and Border Protection staff to detect the Asian giant hornet. The work will also involve increasing surveillance of incoming containers and evaluating opportunities for specialized detection. One possibility is that scent-trained dogs might be able to find these hornets hidden in cargo.

How can Asian giant hornet be controlled?

Pest control for Asian giant hornets relies on understanding their life cycle. The hornets’ mating season is in the fall, the time period of greatest concern for the hornets’ spread. After mating, the newly mated queens find places to overwinter while the rest of the nest dies out.

Hornet queens re-emerge in the spring to raise their young. Once the queen has reared a few dozen workers, she no longer leaves the nest. To control the insects at that point, each underground nest must be located and the queen killed.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture, WSDA, has created a systematic trapping program to determine whether any of the hornets overwintered in the region where they were found last fall. If WSDA confirms the hornets are overwintering, the department’s next step will be to locate and eradicate all of these wasps’ nests before mating season in late summer.

Asian giant hornets not in Texas yet

Entomologists say that they have not seen Asian giant hornets in Texas.

If you are curious about an insect on your property, you can send a photo of the insect to Texas A&M entomologists for identification.

Or, you can also follow instructions to send an insect specimen to Texas A&M for identification.

For more information, see a thorough review of the pests’ biology, geographic distribution and control methods by USDA APHIS.

Stinging Caterpillar Season Starts

May 8, 2020 by Rob Williams

Hickory tussock caterpillar. (John Ghent, bugwood.org)

AgriLife experts warn stinging caterpillars can cause contact rashes, painful reactions

by Susan Himes, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

As the weather warms up and people begin spending more time in their yards, parks and forests, more people will be coming home with a rash or bug bite.

However, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts say before you blame a flying insect or a poisonous plant for a skin ailment, you may need to consider another culprit – stinging caterpillars.

“Spring foliage has brought on an abundance of caterpillars, a few of whom carry irritating or even venomous hairs,” said Janet Hurley, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management for schools statewide specialist, Dallas.

“We normally have fact sheets available for schools this time of year, but with most children out of school due to COVID-19, we wanted to make sure parents are aware that there are stinging caterpillars in Texas, what they look like, and how to avoid them,” she said.

Stinging caterpillar species include the buck moth caterpillar, spiny oak slug caterpillar, hickory tussock moth caterpillar, saddleback caterpillar and Io moth caterpillar.

Perhaps the most painful caterpillar in Texas is the southern flannel moth caterpillar, also known as the asp or puss caterpillar. An encounter with a puss caterpillar is very painful and may even require a trip to the hospital, according to AgriLife Extension experts.

What stinging caterpillars look like

Puss caterpillar. (AgriLife photo by Wizzie Brown)

Hurley said she recently received her first tussock moth caterpillar question – confirming that just about every species of stinging caterpillar has now been spotted in our state.

“A good rule of thumb is if a caterpillar looks ‘fuzzy’ — don’t touch it,” said Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension specialist in integrated pest management and entomologist, Bexar County.

Although many fuzzy caterpillars are not dangerous, do not pick up a caterpillar unless you are sure it is not of the stinging variety. The puss caterpillar, for example, looks deceptively soft and can be especially tempting for children to want to pick up or “pet.”

“These teardrop shaped caterpillars look touchable, but they are not,” emphasized Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Extension specialist in integrated pest management for Travis County. “Asps have spines attached to venom glands that can lead to a nasty sting, rash and other issues.”

Caterpillar sting symptoms and treatment

Saddleback caterpillar. ((Jerry A Payne, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org.)

“Since these caterpillars tend to hide, you may not even know you’ve encountered one until you feel the sting,” Hurley said.

If you are stung, you may feel immediate pain and reddish colored spots may appear where spines entered the skin. Some people may not feel pain until several minutes after they are stung, while others can experience intense throbbing or radiating pain. Other people may not feel much discomfort, and a red rash may be the only telltale sign.

Brown said different people respond to caterpillar toxin differently. “Some people may have a more severe reaction than others, and where on your body you are stung and the thickness of that skin can affect your reaction too.”

If the caterpillar is still on you, immediately brush it off if possible and then use tape to remove the spines that may still be in your skin, Brown said.

Washing the area with soap and water and applying an ice pack to the sting may offer some relief, and an oral antihistamine may help to relieve itching. Over-the-counter insect sting and bite relief products can also help.

“The pain often goes away within an hour,” said Mike Merchant, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension urban entomologist, Dallas.

Other symptoms after a sting can include nausea, vomiting, headaches, respiratory stress or shock. Since reactions to the toxins from stinging caterpillars can vary, seek medical advice or treatment immediately or go to an emergency room if you are concerned. Merchant also stressed that any contact with eyes or an allergic reaction to a sting requires immediate medical attention.

Stinging caterpillar habitat

Spiny oak slug caterpillar. (Jerry A Payne, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org.)

“You are more likely to encounter stinging caterpillars when they leave their host plant in search of a spot to pupate, which is currently happening with many caterpillars,” said Keck. “They aren’t aggressive and won’t come after you, but they can drop from trees.”

Keck has reported sightings of both buck moth caterpillars and tussock moth caterpillars in the Bexar County area already this spring. Texans statewide need to be on the alert and keep an eye on trees and shrubs for caterpillar development, which typically occurs now into the fall.

Some common tree hosts are apple, basswood, cherry, dogwood, elm, maple, plum and oak, which is a favorite of the buck moth caterpillar. Some stinging caterpillars may even be found on crops such as corn.

“Adult puss moths emerge in late spring or early summer to lay several hundred eggs on favored host trees,” said Merchant. “Caterpillars may also be seen feeding on dwarf yaupon and other shrubs. One to two generations occur each year, though southern flannel moth caterpillars tend to be more common in the fall.”

Pest management

Io moth caterpillar. (AgriLife photo by Bart Drees)

Avoid stinging caterpillars by not sitting under trees and wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors, although even that is no guarantee of protection.

“I had the misfortune of getting an eastern buck moth caterpillar on my pants the other day and accidentally brought it inside,” said Keck. “When I rested my hand on my leg, I encountered the hairs/barbs and it didn’t feel good. It itched and left an uncomfortable feeling on my thumb for a couple hours.”

Keck said there isn’t much you can do about managing these caterpillars until they all pupate and go away. You don’t need to worry about harm to your garden however, as stinging caterpillars typically do not do enough feeding to harm plants.

Buck moth caterpillar. (AgriLife photo by Patrick Porter)

If you have large populations of stinging caterpillars and decide you need to try to manage them, you can try Bacillus thuringiensisvar. kurstaki, BTK. However, this will also kill all the non-stinging or “good” caterpillars, which are an important food source for songbirds. You may also look for a pesticide with active ingredients such as spinosad or azadirachtin, which are naturally derived products.

Merchant said puss moth caterpillars can also be controlled when they become abundant by spraying with a residual pesticide such as permethrin, cyfluthrin or similar sprays labeled for control of caterpillars on ornamental plants.

“The best solution to dealing with stinging caterpillars may just be educating adults and children on what these caterpillars are, what they look like, and the importance of not touching them with bare hands,” concluded Merchant.

Students Join Record Number of Graduates in Spring 2020

May 8, 2020 by Rob Williams

Departmental Celebration:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Celebration

A total of 39 students in the Department of Entomology celebrated their graduations virtually on Friday, May 8.

The students included 14 Entomology majors, 20 Forensic and Investigative Sciences majors, 2 Masters students, and 3 Ph.D. students. There also were 16 that received the Certificate in Public Health Entomology.

Congratulations to the following students expected to graduate and good luck on your future endeavors!

Undergraduate Students:

Marguerite Nicole Anderson	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Ryan Joseph Bannister	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Andrew Zinedine Bejean	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Mika Marie Campos	Forensic and Investigative Sciences -Science Emphasis
Marina Joy Conner	Entomology
Jordan Russell Cornell	Entomology
Alexandra Cameron Devany-Laughead	Forensic and Investigative Sciences -Science Emphasis
Katherine Elizabeth Donovan	Entomology
Emile Fierro Morel	Entomology
Michael Stephan Fischer	Entomology
Stephanie Flores	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Samantha Rose Franklin	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Marcelino Gonzalez	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Michel Javier Hernandez	Entomology
Raven Lee Johnson	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Sydney Belle Key	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Gillian Schubert Lane	Entomology
Ragan Breigh Miller	Entomology
Samantha Nicole Oakley	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Sabrina Valdez Quintanilla	Entomology
Andreana S. Rios	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Franchesca Isabella Rodriguez	Entomology
Myrah Elizabeth Rogers	Entomology
Maia Teresa Rubiano	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Jared Rowland Salin	Entomology
Harlee Marie Schneider	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
William Henry Shirley	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Jolie Fisher Starling	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Josephine Diane Starnes	Entomology
Katrina Ganzon Tan	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis
Emma Christine Thompson	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Tessa Alexandra Toler	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Law Emphasis
Jose Christopher Torres	Entomology
Molly Lou Totten	Forensic and Investigative Sciences – Science Emphasis

Graduate Students – Masters:

Subin Neupane	Master of Science – Entomology
Jeffrey Yung	Master of Science – Entomology

Graduate Students – Ph.D.:

Brittny Jones	Ph.D. – Entomology
Xiaotian Tang	Ph.D. – Entomology
Fengchun Yang	Ph.D. – Entomology

Certificate in Public Health Entomology:

Lauren Marie Breazeale

Marina Joy Conner

Jordan Russell Cornell

Alexandra Cameron Devany-Laughead

Victoria A. Kamilar

Kevin Lal

Gillian Schubert Lane

Myrah Elizabeth Rogers

Makenzie Marenne Roybal

Grecia Michelle Sanchez

Harlee Marie Schneider

Sydney Ellen Tejml

Erin Michele Wimberley

Cassidy Peyton Chu

Sarah Marie Kuriyan

Abigail Eden Malthaner

Sabrina Valdez Quintanilla

Macy Layne Thurston

Texas A&M AgriLife mobilizes task force to head off possible emergence of “murder hornet” in Texas

May 7, 2020 by Rob Williams

by Olga Kuchment, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications

Top view of an Asian giant hornet. (Washington State Department of Agriculture)

How the pests ended up in North America is not yet clear. Washington state investigations are focusing on the possibility that container ship or airplane transport may have inadvertently transported a fertilized female hornet.

“Part of our response is preparing our state entry points for cargo transportation,” said Greg Pompelli, Ph.D., director of the Center for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense. “We are developing training for Customs and Border Protection staff to be able to detect the Asian giant hornet. We are also increasing surveillance of incoming containers and evaluating opportunities for specialized detection, such as possibly using scent-trained dogs to find these hornets hidden in cargo or luggage.”

The task force is planning several avenues of action. The team will provide science-based educational materials on the hornet for citizens and beekeepers. In addition, to guard against the hornet entering Texas, the task force will work on detection efforts for border and port-of-entry points. The team will also assist with mitigation efforts to protect Texas honey bee populations. Finally, the task force will prepare statewide identification efforts if necessary.

About Asian giant hornets

Asian giant hornet. (Washington State Department of Agriculture)

The world’s largest hornets, these insects are native to many areas, from Japan and South Korea to India and Pakistan. Up to 2 inches long, the insect is about a half-inch larger than the “cicada killer” wasp common in Texas.

“The hornets’ life cycle informs the potential control strategies,” said David Ragsdale, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and associate director of AgriLife Research, and professor in the Department of Entomology.

Autumn is the hornets’ mating period and the most crucial time for their spread. After mating in the fall, the queens find places to overwinter while the rest of the nest dies out. Hornet queens re-emerge in the spring to raise their young. Once the queen has reared a few dozen workers, she no longer leaves the nest. To control the insects at that point, the nest must be located and the queen killed.

“While widespread surveillance for the hornets in Texas is premature, we do need strategies to prevent the hornets’ arriving here in cargo,” Ragsdale said. “Right now, what we need to know is whether the Asian giant hornets have successfully overwintered in British Columbia or in Washington state.”

In Washington, the State Department of Agriculture, WSDA, has created a systematic trapping program to locate any overwintering queens or workers this spring, Ragsdale said. If WSDA confirms the hornets are overwintering in Washington, the department will work to map the infestation and eradicate all colonies before the hornets’ mating season in late summer or early fall.

For more information, please see Asian Giant Hornet FAQ, a publication of Texas A&M AgriLife.

Aggie professor helps law enforcement find answers in the soil

April 29, 2020 by Rob Williams

This story by Beth Luedeker first appeared in the March 2020 Aggie Agenda.

Jacqui Aitkenhead-Peterson’s Forensic Soil Science Course teaches soil and geologic characteristics associated with crime scene examination. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Luedeker)

We have seen them on TV, the crime scene investigators who sift through the minutiae such as soil to help law enforcement personnel determine what took place.

Jacqui Aitkenhead-Peterson, Ph.D., fills this role for those in Texas law enforcement looking for soil-borne answers.

Peterson is an associate professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research urban nutrient and water management scientist. She is also working with the Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program in the Department of Entomology.

Her research focuses on nutrients in soil and water in human-dominated ecosystems. Her research projects include urban irrigation run-off, extractable soil nutrients under tillage and cropping treatments, and investigation of carbon and nutrients released from decomposing mammals – primarily humans.

It is the latter for which Peterson has become one of the go-to sources for law enforcement.

Finding human remains evidence in soil

For the past six years, she has been helping law enforcement discover the importance of matching soil from crime scenes and suspects or determining evidence of human decomposition products.

In 2008, following a call from the Soil Science Society of America to increase undergraduate numbers, Peterson decided to develop and offer a Forensic Soil Science class. The first year, the class included a field trip to the Huntsville donor facility.

“The extremely high concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from decomposing donors prompted my research and subsequent articles on this topic,” Peterson said. “Volunteering my expertise in sampling soil and on-site chemical analyses of soil at decomposition workshops for law enforcement or other practitioners led to initially helping to examine soil from cold cases and, more recently, active cases in Texas.”

Calling out the dogs

Jacqui Aitkenhead-Peterson, Ph.D., looks on as a human remains detection dog signals a “hit”. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Luedeker)

Earlier this year, when asked to help locate remains for an ongoing case, Peterson called in some canine reinforcements.

Trained by Ben Alexander, Ph.D., an instructor in Texas A&M’s Department of Biology, the human remains detection, HRD, dogs can “hit” on certain smells often undetectable to humans. They are a valuable tool, Peterson said.

“Dogs have a significantly higher sensitivity than the equipment in my lab,” Peterson said. “Sometimes the volume of soils delivered is high, and so it is useful to have trained HRD dogs to alert for human remains before the time-consuming chemical analyses is performed. If the HRD dogs show some interest, then the next step is to scan sub-samples of the soils using UV-Vis-near infrared spectroscopy.”

The diffuse reflectivity of decomposition-contaminated soils is significantly lower than those collected as controls, she said. Statistical analyses will show whether it is worthwhile to continue on with wet chemical analyses to determine chemical markers for human remains.

Being a part of the solution

Recently, three HRD dogs examined evidence, for redundancy purposes, and then Peterson tested the soils in her lab.

Information passed on to the investigators may help them find where a victim is buried or provide other crucial information.

Aggies who wish to learn these techniques enroll in Peterson’s Forensic Soil Science Course, a three credit-hour course in which they learn soil and geologic characteristics associated with crime scene examination, and much more. This course draws numerous budding scientists each semester.