Murder hornets: New terror enters US amid coronavirus pandemic

While the United States continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, a new terror "murder hornets" has arrived in the country for the first time.

The 2-inch long giant Asian hornets have been spottedthe west coast of the country.

The insects have large yellow-orange heads, prominent black eyes, and a black and yellow striped abdomen.

Multiple stings of these creatures are deadly to humans and they destroy honeybeesin their "slaughter phase" andfeed their bodies to their young ones.

Though they typically avoid people, in Asia, "murder hornet" stings are thought to cause as many as 50 human fatalities a year, according to the New York Times.

Scientists are now on a hunt for the hornets, hoping to eradicate the species before they wipe out US bees.

According to the scientists of theWashington State University (WSU), "it's a health hazard,, and more importantly, theshockingly large hornets are a significant predator of honeybees."

They will begin trapping queen murder hornets this spring, aiming to detect and eradicate the species.

Populations of honeybees and other pollinators in the US were already under pressure.

Between 1947 and 2017, number of honeybee colonies in the US plummeted from 6 million to 2.5 million.

They are themost common in Japan where they murder hornets kill roughly 30 to 40 people each year.