One 60-year-old hiker was stung over 10 times when an eight-member hiking team was attacked by a swarm of Asian giant hornets in Taiwan yesterday (August 27).
The group was hiking on New Taipei’s Shiding Hiking Trail when the incident took place. Emergency services received the call for help at around 4pm local time. The New Taipei City Fire Department Fourth Brigade dispatched 15 vehicles and 32 firefighters to the scene, reports Taiwan News.
Three of the hikers were stung; one 60-year-old man, Mr Zhuang, was stung more than 10 times, while two of his colleagues – a 71-year-old man, Mr Chen, and a 56-year-old woman called Lin – were stung twice. All three had chest tightness, swelling from bites and other discomfort.
Emergency crew accompanied the hikers to the trailhead and sent them to Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital for treatment.
The hiking group had set around 9am Wednesday morning and ran into the swarm of hornets just before completing their trek.
Accorinding to Commander of the Fourth Brigade Chen Chih-wei, fall is the peak season for hornet activity. He advised that the best thing for hikers to do it they encounter hornets is to remain calm and avoid panicking or making rapid movements. Although counter-intuitive, a slow retreat your best chance of avoiding stings. Hornets will more likely go into attack mode if you make sudden movements – such as swatting motions – or use objects to drive them away.
Asian giant hornet drones are usually between 35mm and 40mm (1.2in and 1.3in). An Asian giant hornet’s stinger is typically 6mm (0.25in) long and delivers a potent venom that can kill a human if they’re stung multiple times, or suffer a rare allergic reaction.
It’s also handy to know that one of the best insect repellents when it comes to hornets is mint (wasps don’t like it either) or catnip.
- The best insect repellents 2024: keep the bugs at bay when hiking and camping
- The best hiking water bottles 2024: stay hydrated at camp and on the trails
