Noah Aniser
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/style/the-murder-hornet-hunters-of-paris.html
The Queen Is Dead.
The Bize brothers also known as the “murder hornet hunters” killed another nest at a preschool in suburban Paris.
Asian hornets first appeared in southwest France in 2004 and traveled all the way to the capital of France. By now the little insects became a serious threat to institutions like preschools or public buildings. That made the firefighter department punt the wasp problem to private pest technicians. A new side business was established and the Bize brothers took over.
They killed an estimate number of 300 Asian hornet nests in 2019 and the numbers are increasing.
The enormous number of Asian hornets are endangering the honeybees because they both compete for flower resources in the city which makes their work so important.
Honeybees have a long and rich history in France which is one of Europe’s major honey trade hubs. The little insects are not only honey makers though, they also play a really important role for our ecosystem.
A decreasing number of honey bees would not just threaten France’s honey business but also their ecosystem.