When murder hornets are the distraction

Because it's that kind of year. Apparently they're spreading a little further from where they were first found. There was at least one article I came across that mentioned that bees other than the Japanese type also display the cook-that-hornet behavior, but the Japanese bees are the only sort I'm sure of.

A beekeeping anecdote I'd read (probably in the now-discarded e-reader from when I still thought the tentacle beast was a good thing) mentioned that the aggression of beehives could be reduced by discarding the current queens and replacing them with others from a calmer strain. (The reduction occurs within the standard lifespan of a worker bee, but I'm not sure on that point.)

If a hive's behavior can be changed in that way, could the behavior that protects against that-hornet-over-there be imported to hives around here? Beekeepers are already selecting for behavior that protects against issues like varroa (which literally suck) and foulbrood (which infects the next generation of bees), if my memory holds.

This is, at the moment, the issue that holds my attention. The largest issue in the news right now is better off left to those who can support the protesters (or finance the rioters) more ably than I can. (I have to ask, though - how long did it take before cautions for social distancing were mentioned in relation to these protests?)

However, focusing on one topic that holds one's interest does not mean ignoring other topics. Like someone 熊 a person for hiding, for instance, after having hidden from COVID-19 himself. This side of the Pacific might be going through a horrific mess, but that sort of barking from a 熊-led government carries less bite when that government has build-up across a land border, another neighbor nettled over agricultural trade issues, and yet another country who's received faulty medical equipment. (Addicted to producing crap tech, I see. And check the social ills found in those hastily-deleted embassy posts and treatment of guest workers.)

There's no ignoring any of these issues, and not for lack of trying. However, I'll choose what to keep my eye on, thanks.

(Also, because I need an exclamation point and because glorious tech richly deserves it - Need Rockets? Shop Local!)

6/14 - By the way, ants (please), bees, and hornets are all hymenoptera, and bees are better for almonds, among other crops. Isn't veganism meant to be important to you?