Murder hornets have recently been spotted in Canada and the U.S. for the very first time, as if we need another reason to hide inside right now.

Actually called Asian giant hornets, the massive insects got the nickname "murder hornets" because a series of their painful stings (which have been compared to piercing hot thumbtacks) can be fatal, and they feed on other bees.

Holy shit this Nanaimo beekeeper's story about taking on a hive of "murder hornets." They've recently been spotted in Canada in case anyone was unclear how 2020 is going. https://t.co/we103OxmD0 pic.twitter.com/RMK4qZ4xsQ

— Alex Boyd (@alex_n_boyd) May 2, 2020

They kill up to 50 people a year in Japan, have been found in Washington State as well as White Rock and Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and are now totally freaking everyone out thanks to a recent New York Times article published on the subject.

I am looking forward to 2021. If you were not overwhelmed with forest fires, floods, locusts, a pandemic and economic downturn, allow me to introduce the murder hornet. https://t.co/oy7688SCri

— Hardcover Canada (@CanadaHardcover) May 2, 2020

There are now fears that Asian giant hornets could establish themselves in North America and wipe out domestic bee populations.

Anybody read that MURDER HORNET article? They literally only found two of them in Washington state, but there’s a horrific story about an exterminator in Canada getting repeatedly stung through 3 layers of clothing till he bled. “It felt like hot metal pokers”. Horrifying.

— Adam Circumstance (@AdamCirc) May 2, 2020

Scientists are currently tracking and trapping the hornets in the hopes of keeping them from establishing a deep presence.