USA TODAY - An invasive hornet species that slaughters honeybees and can be deadly to humans is sparking concern in the United States.
A small number of "murder hornets," an invasive species of Asian giant hornet, have been spotted in the Pacific Northwest. While experts have been tracking the invasive species in the U.S. for months, a New York Times feature published Saturday raised alarm and brought the fittingly upsetting nickname to national consciousness.
There is some good news though: You're probably not likely to be killed by an insect or spider unless you're allergic, according to Rick Vetter, a retired member of the entomology department at the University of California, Riverside who studies medically important spiders: "I would guess that fatal encounters with insects are almost solely restricted to anaphylactic response to one sting from a honey bee or yellowjacket," said Vetter in an email to USA TODAY. "Fatal encounters with spiders in North America are probably restricted to single digit events."