Hornets invade the Ozarks

A European invasion of the Ozarks! Well, kind of. The area has become a home for the European hornet, which is much more aggressive than other wasps and hornets. Randy Saner of the University of Missouri’s Outreach and Extension Office in West Plains says that while all such stingers can cause people pain, this one will attack. These hornets first came to the United States from Europe in 1840 and have been living in the eastern U.S. and Canada. But they’ve recently been moving west, and the forest areas of the Ozarks provide a perfect home.