Ferocious attack on people - hidden danger of hornet season in Western Nghe An

In the middle of last week, the family of Mr. Vi Van Y, residing in Lien Son village, Luc Da commune, Con Cuong district, held a funeral for his unfortunate wife, Vi Thi Than, who was attacked by wild bees and died on the way to the emergency hospital. This 50-year-old woman suffered countless bee stings on her body... The pain still weighed heavily on Mr. Y, making him uncomfortable when talking to reporters.

Mrs. Than, born in 1968, makes a living by gathering forest products. That day, she went alone to a mountain in Lang Cang village, Mon Son commune, about 10km from her house. It was said that this was a place where many wild bees made nests, so not many people dared to come to pick bamboo shoots. Perhaps this woman thought that if she was a little careful, she would be fine. The forest with few people going in would also make it easier to find forest products.

Wasp nests are a hidden danger to people who often go into the forest to gather food. Photo: Huu Vi

Around 11am, Mrs. Than called her husband who was coming to pick her up from the forest. She said she had been stung by many bees. However, Mr. Y misheard the location, and Mrs. Than's phone was not reachable, so the search team lost their way.

At 4 pm, people discovered Mrs. Than in a coma in a cave. After carrying her down the mountain, people quickly called an ambulance but Mrs. Than died very soon after.

Mrs. Than was not knowledgeable about wild bees. Her death could have been due to an accident when she accidentally fell into a beehive. However, 3 weeks before that, also in Luc Da commune, a man living in Hua Na village died from a bee sting. This case happened while catching wild bees: Mr. Lo Van Duyet (born in 1976) was wearing protective clothing when catching bees. Unfortunately, the protective clothing was torn, allowing the swarm of bees to enter and attack him. The friends who accompanied Duyet took him to the emergency room, but the victim was confirmed dead before that.

Bee nests near residential areas are often the target of many people. Photo: Huu Vi

Cases of being attacked by wild bees are not uncommon. As reported by the press, in September 2018 alone in Nghe An, there were 2 cases of victims being hospitalized due to bee stings. A third grade student in Nghia Hoi commune (Nghia Dan) was hospitalized with difficulty breathing after destroying a beehive with a group of friends.

Another case occurred at the end of September 2018 when a Mong family in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district was suddenly attacked by a swarm of wild bees, causing 7 people to be hospitalized.

Bee stings are not uncommon, but the two deaths were determined to have been caused by wasp stings. Honeybee season is over, but autumn is the peak season for wasps and other non-honeybees. They choose holes in the ground, tree branches, and bushes to build their nests. This is also the time when wild bees become most aggressive.

Indigenous villages in the mountainous areas often have a lot of greenery, which attracts bee colonies to build nests. Bee colonies living near residential areas are becoming increasingly aggressive. One reason is that many people have the habit of catching bees for their pupae, or simply causing trouble. When disturbed, wild bee colonies will actively attack people even when they are a long distance from their nests.

Recently, in Con Cuong district, groups of people have come to catch bees and collect pupae. They spend money to equip themselves with protective gear, so catching bees is relatively easy. Mr. Luong Van Bua, resident of Thanh Son commune, Thanh Chuong district, in a group of hornet hunters in Con Cuong, said: You only need to spend more than 1 million VND to buy a protective suit to catch bees. When equipped with this "treasure", you can just rush in to catch bees and collect pupae without fear of being stung.

Autumn is also the time when wasp hunting in the mountains begins. Photo: Dao Tho

The lesson of Mr. Lo Van Duyet’s death is probably not known to this group of bee hunters. They still appear very confident in their protective suits when rushing into the beehives. Perhaps the income of 250,000 VND for 1kg of bee pupae is too attractive to them.

However, when this group of people left, the bee colonies became very aggressive. Mr. Lao Van Nam, a resident of Chi Ke commune, Con Cuong district, said that for two consecutive days, the bee colonies whose nests were destroyed flew away over a wide area, causing many people to not dare to enter their production areas.

Hornets often pose more danger than economic benefit. Photo: Dao Tho

The hornet season is bringing more dangers than economic benefits to hunters. However, currently in many mountainous areas, catching hornets for pupae is still a hobby of many people. This is a situation that needs warning./.