Elderly man dies after being stung several times by Asian hornets in Spain

A Galician councillor from Irixoa (A Coruña), Ramón José Dopico Martínez died at the age of 76 on 15 October, after an attack by several Asian hornets on a farm in Teixeiro. He was clearing undergrowth when he was apparently stung multiple times by the Vespa velutina insects.

Emergency health services, including an air ambulance, were mobilised to the scene. Unfortunately, the paramedics could only confirm his death. Ramón José Dopico Martínez was laid to rest on Thursday in the parish church of San Lorenzo de Irixoa.

Asian hornets are very dangerous insects that often attack as a swarm. The individual sting is no worse than that of other species, but if they feel threatened, they can attack in their thousands at a time. "They are social beings that function as if the colony were a single individual: if you attack the hive, they all respond as one and they can kill you ." Each hornet can sting several times. These characteristics make them deadly insects, as zoology professor Raimundo Real explained.

SUR recently reported the detection of an Asian hornet nest in Malaga province, where a large team of experts and volunteers worked tirelessly to locate and remove a nest in Alhaurín de la Torre.