What's Bugging Me Now

Okay, I'm still not quite done with this whole global pandemic thing and now the news folks want me to be terrified by something brand new: the Murder Hornet. As we tumble toward a hundred thousand American lives lost to a disease, I am supposed to be frightened of an insect. From Asia. Only a matter of time before we are told that these were genetically mutated beasts released from a lab whose only reason for existing is to wipe out all life as we know it here in the United States. 

Don't get me wrong. I am fully capable of caring fear on two fronts. I have been anxious about the Rage Against The Machine reunion for months now, but I guess if there's a Murder Hornet to take the place of that creeping distress then I can allow myself to become preoccupied with that. I have never been a big fan of your garden variety wasp. Not only can they bite or sting, unlike their little friends the bee, they can sting multiple times. That makes the whole wasp versus bee thing pretty much moot in my book. 

And now they're murderous. 

So, if you're as old as I am, you might remember when the Killer Bees were on their way here. And they weren't coming from Asia. They were on their way from South America about forty-five years ago. And we were horrified by the possibility of being overwhelmed by the Africanized Bee. To date, about a thousand people have been killed by killer bees. Not in a month or a day. That's like since we decided to keep track. You might not have guessed that by watching the 1978 film The Swarm. Michael Caine lead an all-star cast in an effort to subdue the vengeful and vicious bugs who were looking for trouble when they finally found themselves in a country that needed a good disaster. Happily for all concerned, the bees were easily fooled and once lured into a central location they were doused with oil and set on fire. Okay, not exactly like destroying Los Angeles with an earthquake or setting a skyscraper ablaze, but it worked to keep America frightened until the next Airport movie could be put together. 

But this is no movie. Murder Hornets are here. Now. And maybe you don't feel like waiting for Michael Caine or Charlton Heston to save us all. The good news is that our friend the honey bee is more than capable of vanquishing the occasional giant hornet visit to their hive.

Which means I can probably relax for a little while longer. Freeing me up to fret more about having to use chopsticks in public. 

Nothing to fear but fear itself? They don't know me very well, do they?