The first Asian giant hornet nest of 2021 has been found in Washington state, roughly a week after a live hornet was spotted in the state for the first time this year.
The nest was discovered in a rural area east of Blaine, Washington, on Thursday, about a quarter-mile from where a resident spotted a live hornet on 11 August.
According to the Washington state department of agriculture, experts were able to locate the nest after putting trackers on three hornets in hopes of finding their nest.
One hornet slipped out of the tracking device, another hornet was never located and one eventually led the team to their home.
WSDA experts narrowed the search area by 17 August but were unable to access the location until Thursday.
A WSDA tracking team, along with the Oregon department of agriculture and USDA’s animal plant health inspection service then began searching the area at 7:30am and eventually spotted the nest at 9:15am, local time.
Asian giant hornets are also known as “murder hornets”, primarily because they prey on other, smaller insects.
The hornets’ nests are difficult to locate as they tend to remain in forested areas.
Native to Asia, the hornets pose a threat to honeybees and native hornet species. If left to spread unchecked, the hornets can destroy a honeybee hive in just hours by feeding on the larvae and decapitating bees in what scientists call their “slaughter phase”, feeding severed body parts to their own young.
“Teamwork has been the key to success with this effort,” said Sven Spichiger, WSDA’s managing entomologist. “Whether it is the public reporting sightings and building traps or state and federal agencies working together, this is really a model for success in invasive species management,” he added.
WSDA has announced that it will develop plans to eradicate the nest, most likely next week. In the meantime, the public has been urged to continue reporting suspected sightings across the state.
