A farmer in Hualien County was knocked unconscious by a hornet swarm while working in a betel nut grove, but survived after fast emergency treatment.

• The attack happened on a mountain road in Wanrong Township, where the man was clearing weeds when hornets swarmed him.
• Rescuers found him collapsed and unresponsive, covered in stings, breathing fast with dangerously low blood pressure.
• They gave him oxygen, an adrenaline shot and fluids on the spot, then rushed him to a hospital in Fenglin, where he woke up.
• Hornets in Taiwan turn aggressive in late summer, and this stretch of mountain farmland puts workers right in their territory.

Outlook: The fire department is warning people working or hiking outdoors not to swat at hornets, to cover their head and neck and get away fast, and to watch for dizziness, a racing heart or trouble breathing after a sting.