This is how invading giant hornets kill bees 2:55
(CNN) ––
In biblical terms of horror, 2020 ticked all the boxes.
There was war.
Also hungry.
Above all, there were plagues.
And scary critters, of course.
There were so many, so many, scary insects in 2020. Strange worms, poisonous caterpillars, and all kinds of invasive species added a little spice to our everyday pandemic anxieties.
Of course, floating above it all, there were killer hornets.
READ: The 'killer hornets' are not the bugs you should worry about, but these
Unfortunately, this insect issue won't end in 2020. In 2021, America's largest cicada brood, appropriately named Brood X for its English term, will awaken from a 17-year-old slumber.
And, of course, it will come out of the cold, ushering in a new season of bug-related horrors.
LOOK: Millions of cicadas will come out after 17 years underground because, of course, it is 2020
Before that nightmare awakens (literally), here are the terrifying insects that marked 2020.
Killer hornets, the insects that marked 2020
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Oh yeah, two of the worst words… in a row.
The killer hornets, also known as Asian giant hornets, made their debut in May.
The moment they were seen in the United States for the first time, in the state of Washington.
How did terrifying insect scientists know they were dealing with this specific pack of invasive flying nightmares?
The decapitated bee carcasses were a great clue.
Asian giant hornets can be up to 5 centimeters long and kill a person with multiple stings.
The name certainly fits.
In addition, these critters stayed for most of the year prowling the spaces of our minds that were not yet occupied with the other horrors of the day.
Fortunately, it seems that killer hornets take a little break from being evil in the winter.
So we have a breather before they raise their murderous heads once more.
Zombie cicadas
Horror movies have nothing on the Massospora, a psychedelic mushroom that invaded the bodies of cicadas in West Virginia in June.
And that turned these insects into thoughtless, fungal, sex-crazed zombies.
The fungus enters the cicada through a hole (any hole) and slowly takes over.
How?
It first devours healthy tissue and replaces it with fungal matter.
As you control the insect's brain, it has an uncontrollable urge to mate, which helps the fungus to spread.
Perhaps the worst part is that the cicadas remain fully functional during this hostile spread.
They also show no signs of knowing that they have been invaded, until it is too late.
Spotted lanternfly
In August, residents of some New Jersey counties received a double dose of quarantine, when asked to protect themselves from an avalanche of lantern flies.
Although these large insects are not prone to bloodshed, they can still be scary.
Their white wings with black spots cover bright red bodies.
And their sin is to endanger the native flora and fauna.
They are also "an excellent hitchhiker," according to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
Brain tapeworms, another scary insect of 2020
When doctors examined the brain of an Australian woman who had suffered from persistent headaches for years, they thought they had found a tumor.
But upon removal, they discovered that it was actually a cyst filled with tapeworm larvae.
A CYST FULL OF LARVAE OF TENIA.
A tapeworm lived in his brain 0:56
Usually, someone would have to swallow the eggs found in the stool of a person with an intestinal tapeworm to end up in that state.
But in a report published in September, doctors said the woman never left the country and they have no idea how the worms got to her brain.
The condition is called neurocysticercosis and it happens more often than we would like.
This is not the only time it has been reported this year!
In January it was learned about a man treated for the same condition.
Congratulations, you have unlocked a new fear!
Poisonous caterpillars resembling tribbles from "Stark Trek"
Behold the fluffiest and most evil caterpillar that has ever crept across the earth.
In October, multiple sightings of the cat caterpillar were reported in Virginia.
Which prompted the state Department of Forestry to warn against petting or even approaching the creatures.
Their brown fur oozes venom.
And just touching it can cause itchy rashes, vomiting, swollen glands, fever and, according to one resident who was stung, "pain like a hot knife."
The caterpillars are native to areas in the far south and the Midwest, so experts were quite baffled when they saw their hairy heads in Virginia.
Hammer worms
Nothing good comes from the phrase "hammer worm."
During November, numerous sightings of "broad-headed planarians" (their other name) were reported in Georgia.
Their names are due to the small Lovecraftian crescent that they have as their head.
Well, a kind of head.
The mouth is actually in the middle of their bodies.
Anyway, they are not only very ugly and like snakes.
These babies are poisonous too!
Hammerhead worms produce tetrodotoxin, the same deadly neurotoxin produced by pufferfish.
Scientists don't know much about how it uses the toxin (probably to help it catch its food, other worms!).
Nor how much would it need to produce to harm a human, but they advise staying away.
And if you see one and have a very understandable need to cut it into pieces, don't do it!
They can reproduce from sections cut from their bodies, like a real-life hydra.
Brood X
And so we come to the future of our terrifying insect world.
Honestly, cicadas aren't that scary.
However, they are very noisy and, if many are left on the road during a busy season, also crisp.
Brood X (Brood X) is the largest and most extensive of the 15 cicada cycles that invade the United States from time to time.
And areas in the mid-Atlantic will be covered in vermin in spring.
You see, cicadas have a pretty nifty way of avoiding predators - they just come out in droves.
Even though they are there to eat, the baby cicadas are so large that predators literally cannot reach them all.
The insects buzz for a few weeks and then lay their eggs in the ground before dying.
When they leave, a new generation of cicadas remains, growing, waiting, right under our feet.
Author's Note:
This same cicada brood took over the Washington city area when I was in high school.
One day in the cafeteria, a boy in my class looked me in the eye from across the cafeteria and opened his mouth to reveal a whole cicada on his tongue.
Reader, he ate it.
Hornets Insect Fly Caterpillar