Brush cutter operator dies after wasp attack in Ourense, Spain

Asian hornet kills another brush cutter operator in Galicia

A 56-year-old man, from Pontevedra and living in Manzaneda, died on Wednesday 21 October after being attacked by wasps while clearing a forest track in Seadur, in the Valdeorras region (Ourense). He was working on a Larouco job training scheme alongside his colleagues when the insects got past his protective suit, entered through the face shield and stung him on the upper body, neck and face. His colleagues called 061, the Spanish emergency number. Nothing could be done.

This was no isolated accident. Autumn has become one of the most dangerous seasons for Asian hornet attacks. In the same season the previous year, in less than two weeks, three men lost their lives in Galicia to stings from this invasive species. Neither the time of year nor the concentration of deaths was considered normal: the critical breeding period for the Asian hornet used to run from June to September. The Xunta (the regional government of Galicia) admitted an "extraordinary increase" despite the campaigns launched to destroy nests.

Galicia, the region hit hardest by the Asian hornet

Galicia is the worst-affected region in Spain for this invasive species. It arrived in 2012 and has adapted massively thanks to the humid, mild climate. Its presence is so disproportionate that in many Galician districts there are now more Asian hornets than native wasps. The constant stream of news about the removal of thousands of nests creates the impression that this is a region unlike any other when it comes to wasp plagues, although the phenomenon has already spread to other areas.

The official story talks about campaigns, nest removal and coordination with local councils. The experience on the ground is different. Anyone who has dealt with the Asian hornet describes a large, aggressive and resilient insect: one blow is not enough, nor two. It survives being stamped on, household insecticide and the electric swatter. Some claim to have seen it smoking after a shock and getting up minutes later. The battle is fought nest by nest, and it is being lost.

Why is the Asian hornet more dangerous than the common wasp?

The difference is not just size. The Asian hornet is more aggressive in defending its nest and attacks in a group. Its sting is smooth and does not detach after stinging, unlike a bee's: it can sting repeatedly. In a swarm attack, the risk to an allergic person multiplies, and for those who are not allergic, the accumulation of stings can be just as lethal.

Individual protection fails. The Seadur case proves it: the suit did not seal completely and the insects found the gap. No equipment guarantees immunity against a determined swarm.

The European honey buzzard, the natural predator that eats Asian hornets

Among the solutions being floated, one stands out for its biological elegance: the European honey buzzard. This bird of prey bases 90% of its diet on the larvae, pupae and adults of social insects, and is adapted to withstand attacks from bees and wasps. Not through chemical immunity, but through a kind of natural physical armour that blocks the stings. Where there is an Asian hornet nest, the honey buzzard devastates it: it carries off pieces of the nest with larvae inside and starts eating without being fazed by the stings.

Some have seen a honey buzzard attack an Asian hornet nest in northern Galicia and stay to eat the larvae while the wasps rammed it without success. The proposal from some is clear: fewer subsidies for certain things and more for breeding these hawks. Nature already had a control mechanism; the problem is that we were too late in using it.

Public management of the plague: nests left unremoved and unclear responsibilities

Criticism of the authorities cuts across the board. People argue that the situation worsens every year, that there are more wasps than a couple of years ago, and that the public response is slow or simply non-existent. When a private individual finds a nest on their property, the ball gets passed from the town council to civil protection and from there to no one. Many end up acting on their own with whatever means they have at hand, from fly spray to a stick and insecticide.

The result is a map of nests that grows faster than they are removed. The sense of a losing battle is spreading among those who have been fighting the hornet on their land for years.

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Winter will slow the activity down, as it always does. The question is how many nests will have gone unnoticed until next spring, and how many brush cutter operators will head out into the countryside while no one has solved the underlying problem.