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 room. 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. She heard that this was a place where many wild bees made nests, so not many people dared to come and 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. Photo: Huu Vi

Around 11am, Mrs. Than called her husband to pick her up from the forest. She said she had been stung by many bees. However, Mr. Y misheard the location, and after that Mrs. Than's phone was unreachable, so the search team lost their way.

At 4pm, 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 may have been due to an accident when she accidentally fell into a beehive. However, 3 weeks earlier, also in Luc Da commune, a man living in Hua Na village died from a sting from a wild bee. This case happened while catching wild bees: Mr. Lo Van Duyet (born in 1976) was wearing protective gear when catching bees. Unfortunately, the gear 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.

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

Cases of wild bee attacks 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 in late 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. Honey bee season is over, but fall is the peak season for wasps and other non-honey bees. 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 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 believed to be that many people have the habit of catching bees to collect their pupae, or simply to annoy them. 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 their 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. Once equipped with this "treasure", you can just rush in to catch bees and collect their pupae without fear of being stung.

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

The lesson of 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 broken beehives became very aggressive. Mr. Lao Van Nam, a resident of Chi Ke commune, Con Cuong district, said that for two consecutive days, the broken beehives scattered over a large 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 their pupae is still a hobby of many people. This is a situation that needs warning./.