Friday, January 10, 2020
CapitalPress.com
3
Asian giant hornet, a nemesis of honeybees, appears in Washington
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
BLAINE, Wash. — As if
life wasn’t hard enough for
the honeybee, things just got
worse with the appearance of
a new hornet that can deci-
mate hives.
While honeybees in North
America face many foes
such as lethal varroa mites, a
new nemesis buzzed onto the
scene in Washington state —
an invasive species capable of
killing honeybee populations,
reducing crop pollination and
stinging humans.
The pest is the Asian giant
hornet. According to entomol-
ogists, it is indigenous to Asia,
where it has many names:
commander wasp, yak-killer
hornet and tiger head bee.
The hornets are distin-
guishable by their yellow
heads, long bodies and three-
inch wingspans.
The hornets prey on other
insects, feeding pulped bugs
to their larvae.
Where
similar
spe-
cies of hornets are estab-
lished in Europe, they have
wiped out 30% of beehives,
reduced honey production by
two-thirds and dramatically
slashed crop production due to
lack of pollination, according
to Washington State Depart-
ment of Agriculture public
engagement specialist Karla
Salp.
A typical Asian giant hor-
net is five times the size of a
honeybee and can kill up to 40
bees per minute, according to
Tim Hiatt, a commercial bee-
keeper and member of the
Washington State Beekeepers
Association.
“No one knows what trig-
gers it, but sometimes they lit-
erally go into slaughter phase,
decapitating bee after bee
and eating their bodies,” said
Salp. “It takes 20 hornets to
kill an entire hive in one to six
hours.”
Probable sightings
The first Asian giant hor-
net sightings recorded in the
U.S. were Dec. 8 by a resident
of Blaine, Wash., just south of
the state’s border with Can-
ada. They had previously been
confirmed at three sites in
British Columbia.
Since then, WSDA has
received 80 new sighting
reports, three of which they
deem probable. One was from
a Bellingham beekeeper.
“Since these hornets are
normally dormant in the win-
ter, it’s unusual to find them
active this time of year,” said
Salp. “It’s probably because
the winters are milder here,
Asian giant hornet facts
Binomial name: Vespa mandarinia
Sources: WSDA;
Purdue University
Pest Tracker;
en.wikipedia.org
Origin: Eastern Asia
First observed in Washington:
December 2019
Appearance: Adults are large —
more than one and a half inches in
length — with a light-orange head
and prominent black eyes, a black
thorax, and a mostly black abdomen
with narrow yellow accents.
Diet: Insects; they can decimate
honeybee hives.
40 mm
If you’re a beekeeper
(Actual size)
Behavior: Nesting in the ground,
they are most active July through
October and typically dormant
over winter months.
Courtesy en.wikipedia.org
Sting: They have a large stinger
with venom that contains a
neurotoxin. Anaphylactic shock
and cardiac arrest can occur in
those allergic to bee stings,
although multiple stings can
be fatal to anyone.
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
so they’re surviving better. It
seems the Pacific Northwest is
their ideal environment.”
Hitchhiking hornets
All it takes to establish
a new colony is one mated
female, said Salp. And to
invade a new location, a queen
hornet just needs to do a little
hitchhiking.
“Honeybees are mobile,”
Hiatt. But in winter, when hor-
nets are dormant, finding one
tucked inside a pallet is nearly
impossible.
Experts say it will take
everyone working together to
stop the spread.
“This is a good citizen-sci-
entist moment,” said Laura
Lavine, chair of Washington
State University’s entomology
department. “Everyone can
pitch in.”
said beekeeper Hiatt. Bees are
shipped across the U.S. to pol-
linate crops. Three-quarters
of all managed beehives are
shipped to California in Feb-
ruary to pollinate almonds.
At the border, California
Border Protection Stations, or
as Hiatt calls them, “bug sta-
tions,” inspect for pests. In
summer, finding stowaway
hornets would be easy, said
According to entomolo-
gists, Asian honeybees have
developed natural defense
instincts. When a hornet
invades, honeybees clump
together around the invader
in tens or hundreds, creating a
giant ball and suffocating their
attacker.
North American honey-
bees, said Salp, appear not to
have this instinct.
“I think there’s a need for
panic,” said Lavine. “I’ve
heard anecdotes of beekeepers
in Asia standing around with
badminton rackets, smack-
ing the hornets to the ground
and stomping them. I know
that sounds totally insane, but
that’s what it can come to.”
Hobby beekeepers, said
Hiatt, should consider putting
a so-called robbing screen,
which hornets can’t enter but
bees learn to navigate through,
in front of beehives.
Robbing screens, however,
aren’t feasible for commer-
cial-size operations. Hiatt sug-
gests all beekeepers restrict
the entrance size of hives,
making it harder for hornets
to enter.
If you’re a farmer
Farmers, Hiatt said, should
watch for the hornets, which
nest in the ground.
However, he warned
against flushing out any
ground nest indiscriminately.
He said some native bees
nest in the ground — many of
which pollinate crops, espe-
cially alfalfa.
Be alert
Experts say everyone
should be alert — especially
in port cities, where there is
ongoing trade with Asia.
If you think you’ve found
an Asian giant hornet, report it
immediately to WSDA’s pest
program via email at pest-
program@agr.wa.gov. Send a
photo if possible.
Put safety first. In Asia,
according to Salp, dozens
of people die annually from
stumbling into hornet nests.
If you get stung and have an
allergic reaction, call 911 and
get medical help.
Fish and
Study: Removing Snake River dams would cost economy, environment
Wildlife
By MATTHEW WEAVER
the Snake River dam sys-
ONLINE
Capital Press
tem is the most efficient
option for transporting
Commission A new study finds that
Little Goose Dam
goods such as wheat, gen-
erating renewable energy
the costs to farmers and
Lower
Granite
Dam
to let public the region’s economy if
via hydropower and pre-
venting flooding in the
the four dams on the lower
Lower Monumental Dam
in, this time Snake
Pacific Northwest,” Ander-
River were removed
Ice Harbor
son said. “While remov-
would average roughly
WASH.
26
Area in
detail
WHITMAN
127
Summary report:
261
https://www.pnwa.net/
wp-content/uploads/LSR-
Dam-Breach-Summary-
Findings-v3.pdf
ke Riv
er
260
R.
Pomeroy
Tu c
annon
12
GARFIELD
na
395 FRANKLIN
S
Dam
Full report:
12
WALLA WALLA
Dayton
https://www.pnwa.net/
wp-content/uploads/
LSR-Dam-Breach-Impact-
Report-FCS-v3.pdf
124
Touchet
Ri
ve
Pasco
.
b ia R
OLYMPIA — The
Washington Fish and
Wildlife Commission will
allow the public to attend
four committee meetings
Thursday at which com-
missioners will talk about
hatcheries, wolves and
other issues.
The committees will
meet back-to-back the day
before the commission
convenes Friday and Sat-
urday for its regular meet-
ing, which must by law be
open to the public.
In contrast, the commit-
tee meetings are open at the
consent of commission-
ers, and future committee
meetings could be closed
to the public, according to
the commission.
Commissioner
Kim
Thorburn,
chairwoman
of the Wolf and Wildlife
committees, said Mon-
day there may be times
commissioners will close
meetings to hear from
department employees and
“argue about science and
that sort of thing.”
“I’m sure there would
be public interest, but it
would hinder our ability
to do the work,” Thorburn
said.
The commission has
farmed out to committees
policy discussions about
some of Fish and Wild-
life’s high-profile issues,
including wolves and
cougars.
Each committee offi-
cially has four of the com-
mission’s nine members,
though sometimes more
than four commission-
ers attend. Officially hold-
ing each committee to four
members gives the com-
mission the option of clos-
ing meetings, according to
the department.
The committees “kind
of guide the policy for the
whole commission,” Thor-
burn said. “They’re quite
influential.”
$76 million a year.
That equals as much as
$2.3 billion over the next
30 years, according to the
study, which was com-
missioned by the Pacific
Northwest
Waterways
Association.
Some of the estimated
costs are in the form of
higher expenses for farm-
ers and others would be
for building and maintain-
ing roads, railroad facili-
ties and storage facilities.
The overall impact on the
region’s economy is also
factored in.
“Rather than an opin-
ion poll, this study relies
on existing data...,” asso-
ciation executive direc-
tor Kristin Meira told the
Capital Press.
The association com-
missioned economic con-
sultants FCS Group to
develop the study to offset
misinformation about the
value of the Ice Harbor,
Lower Monumental, Little
Goose and Lower Gran-
ite dams to the region’s
economy.
The association wanted
to provide a full picture
of the impacts that would
be felt if the dams were
removed, particularly in
the transportation sector,
Meira said.
lum
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Co
COLUMBIA
r
125
Walla Walla
12
College Place
730 Wash.
Ore.
11
10 miles
Wash.
Ore.
Capital Press graphic
The
study
doesn’t
include the cost of breach-
ing the dams.
Information in the study
comes from government
agencies, commodity com-
missions and ports.
“We don’t create new
data here,” Meira said.
“We simply evaluate the
data and determine what
it means for the North-
west if the dams were to be
removed. ... This is actual
data with regard to the
value of commodities that
move and how much trans-
portation costs.”
According to the study:
• Removing the Snake
River locks would cause
diesel fuel consumption to
increase by nearly 5 mil-
lion gallons per year as
barges were replaced by
less efficient trucks and
railroads. Carbon emis-
sions would increase by
more than 1.2 million tons
a year, the equivalent of
putting 181,889 more pas-
senger cars on the road.
• Transportation and
storage costs for wheat,
the dominant crop in
the region, would likely
increase from 40 cents
per bushel to 60 to 80
cents per bushel with dam
breaching, according to
the study. That would cost
the region’s farmers an
additional $18.9 million to
$38.8 million a year.
• Expansion and main-
tenance of highways, rail-
roads and grain elevators
would cost more than $1.6
billion. At least 201 addi-
tional unit trains and 23.8
million miles of additional
trucking would be needed
annually.
Barges produce fewer
emissions than any other
form of cargo transpor-
tation, Meira said. The
association found the car-
bon impacts of shifting
to trucks and rail “pretty
stark.”
“It’s hard to picture
being concerned with cli-
mate change and being
Stakeholders urged to attend dam study workshop
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
River advocates say it
is important for farmers,
ranchers and other indus-
try representatives to attend
meetings about the Wash-
ington governor’s study on
dams on the Lower Snake
River.
Environmental groups
have for years called for the
removal of the Ice Harbor,
Lower Monumental, Little
Goose and Lower Granite
dams, citing their impacts on
federally protected salmon
and, more recently, orcas.
The study is part of Gov.
Jay Inslee’s efforts to exam-
ine orca recovery.
A draft report of the study
is available for public com-
ment until Jan. 24.
One public workshop
remains:
• Jan. 13: Tri Cit-
ies; 6-9 p.m.; Red Lion
Hotel & Conference Cen-
ter, 2525 North 20th Ave.,
Pasco.
The meetings are a good
chance to learn about the
evaluations done by Inslee’s
consultants, ask questions
and submit comments.
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in favor of dam breach-
ing — they just don’t go
together,” she said.
Idaho Wheat Commis-
sion board member Joseph
Anderson, of Genesee,
said in a statement that he
would share the study’s
results during a workshop
in Clarkston, Wash.
The public can comment
until Jan. 24 on a draft
stakeholder report on dam
breaching funded by Wash-
ington Gov. Jay Inslee’s
office and the legislature.
“As this study shows,
ing or breaching the
Snake River dams will not
increase salmon numbers
with any certainty, there
would definitely be neg-
ative impacts on people,
including growers.”
The waterways associa-
tion’s report will be part of
the information provided
to the governor along with
the stakeholder report, said
Tara Lee, deputy director
of communications for Ins-
lee’s office.
Meira said the asso-
ciation hasn’t found any
upside to removing the
dams, related to either the
environment, transporta-
tion efficiency or safety.
“We haven’t identified
any net benefit to removing
the dams,” she said.
LEGAL
TRUSTEE’S NOTICE OF SALE Loan No: 286394 T.S. No.: NR-51579-OR Ref-
erence is made to that certain deed made by, BRIAN J NEWRONES AND
AMY L. NEWRONES, AS TENANTS BY THE ENTIRETY as Grantor to AMER-
ITITLE, as trustee, in favor of MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION
SYSTEMS, INC “MERS” SOLELY AS NOMINEE FOR EQUITY ONE, INC., ITS
SUCCESSORS AND/OR ASSIGNS, as Beneficiary, dated 3/26/2003, recorded
3/21/2003, in official records of Marion County, Oregon in book/reel/vol-
ume No. 2095 at page No. 309, fee/file/instrument/microfile/reception No.
XX (indicated which), covering the following described real property situat-
ed in said County and State, to-wit: APN: R63582 Lot 46, WATERFORD AD-
DITION,, City of Keizer, Marion County, Oregon. Property Commonly known
as: 1376 Wisdom Avenue Northeast Salem, OR 97303 Both the beneficiary
and the trustee have elected to sell the said real property to satisfy the ob-
ligations secured by said trust deed and notice has been recorded pursuant
to Section 86.735(3) of Oregon Revised Statutes: the default for which the
foreclosure is made is the grantor’s: The balance of principal and interest
which became due on 4/1/2018, along with late charges, foreclosure fees
and costs any legal fees or advances that have become due. Monthly Pay-
ment $1,168.08 By this reason of said default the beneficiary has declared
all obligations secured by said deed of trust immediately due and payable,
said sums being the following, to-wit: The sum of $124,841.38 together
with interest thereon at the rate of 7.25 % per annum from 9/1/2011 un-
til paid; plus all accrued late charges thereon; and all trustee’s fees, fore-
closure costs and any sums advanced by the beneficiary pursuant to the
terms of said deed of trust. Whereof, notice hereby is given that Darren
J. Devlin, Esq., the undersigned trustee will on 2/24/2020 at the hour of
10:00 AM, Standard of Time, as established by section 187.110, Oregon
Revised Statues, at AT THE HIGH STREET ENTRANCE TO MARION COUNTY
COURTHOUSE 100 HIGH STREET NE, SALEM,OREGON County of Marion,
State of Oregon, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash the
interest in the said described real property which the grantor had or had
power to convey at the time of the execution by him of the said trust deed,
together with any interest which the grantor or his successors in interest
acquired after the execution of said trust deed, to satisfy the foregoing
obligations thereby secured and the costs and expenses of sale, including
a reasonable charge by the trustee. Notice is further given that any per-
son named in Section 86.753 of Oregon Revised Statutes has the right to
have the foreclosure proceeding dismissed and the trust deed reinstated
by payment to the beneficiary of the entire amount then due (other than
such portion of said principal as would not then be due had no default
occurred), together with the costs, trustee’s and attorney’s fees and curing
any other default complained of in the Notice of Default by tendering the
performance required under the obligation or trust deed, at any time prior
to five days before the date last set for sale. TRUSTEE’S NOTICE OF SALE
In construing this notice, the masculine gender includes the feminine and
the neuter, the singular includes plural, the word “grantor” includes any
successor in interest to the grantor as well as any other persons owing
an obligation, the performance of which is secured by said trust deed, the
words “trustee” and ‘beneficiary” include their respective successors in
interest, if any. Without limiting the trustee’s disclaimer of representation
or warranties, Oregon law requires the trustee to state in this notice that
some residential property sold at a trustee’s sale may have been used in
manufacturing methamphetamines, the chemical components of which are
known to be toxic. Prospective purchasers of residential property should
be aware of this potential danger before deciding to place a bid for this
property at the trustee’s sale. Darren J. Devlin, Esq 5677 Oberlin Drive Suite
210 San Diego, CA by Darren J. Devlin (IFS# 17905, 01/08/20, 01/15/20,
S165085-1
01/22/20, 01/29/20)