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27 December 2020

This cryopreserved hornet could help save billions of bees

27 December 2020

Five Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia), from the first nest found in the United States, have taken a trip across the country to a Washington, D.C. area Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facility and the Smithsonian for study and preservation. Once the specimens were taken into the "cold storage room," they were transferred to a table kept at below zero temperatures with liquid nitrogen, databased, placed in special cryo-vials and finally, lowered into silver liquid nitrogen containers, which will maintain the specimens' tissue in perfect condition.

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