Attack of the Killer Hornets

Last week, as I was teaching a class, I heard a funny little plop. I looked at the floor and saw that a spider had fallen. I looked up to see where it had come from and saw a giant, flying insect perched on a light fixture. This was the biggest insect I’ve ever seen. I’m from South Florida and we have big palmetto bugs. This creature looked like it could eat a palmetto bug with no problem.

I guess I stared at the bug a little too long because my 3^rd grade students, Emily and Andrew, followed my gaze up to the ceiling. Well, as soon as they saw the insect, they jumped under the table. I crouched down to ask them if they were ok and Emily tried to pull me under too. The kids don’t speak much English but they did tell me “Bug…kill…people!” I wasn’t sure if this was true or not but that was a really big bug. It looked like a bee, but a bee who worked out and took steroids. I needed an adult.

I grabbed Emily and Andrew, took them into the hallway, and shut the classroom door. I found a Korean coworker and explained the situation to her. She grabbed a broom, marched into the classroom, and immediately came back out. It turns out that the bug is dangerous and there was a nest on the window sill.

My coworker called 119, the Korean emergency number. The next day, someone from the city came to kill the insect and dispose of the nest. Once he was finished, my classroom could be used again.

I later asked what kind of insect that was. My coworker told me it was a wasp but that was no ordinary wasp. She showed me a translation on her phone and the name was the Vespa mandarinia or the Asian Giant Hornet.

I looked up the Asian Giant Hornet and found that Emily and Andrew were right -  it can kill people. For an adult to die, they typically have to be stung dozens of times. For a child or an adult with an allergy, it’s less but seems to vary from person to person. Either way, it’s a scary insect.

I’m really glad that Emily and Andrew knew what to do. Not having grown up in this country, I had no idea that such an insect even existed.