MURDER HORNETS IN THE USA ELIMINATED

                             MURDER HORNETS IN THE USA ELIMINATED

In December 2019 an Asian giant hornet was seen in the United States of America for the first time. This information came from Aljazeera, (a Washington State Department of Agriculture/Handout via Reuters) on 23 October 2020.

Throughout 2020 more sightings of the insect were reported. In late October 2020 the first nest of Asian giant hornets, otherwise called murder hornets was found on a property in Blaine, a small town in Washington State. The place is located near to the state's northern border of the USA and Canada. 

The insects are large - two inches in size. Dozens of them were seen on a tree on the property. 

"Asian giant hornets, an invasive pest, not native to the US, are the world's largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honeybee hive in a matter of hours." the Washington State Department of Agriculture said.

The hornets have also been seen in the Canadian province of British Columbia which is just north of the border with Washington State, USA. 

The insects' sting is so strong that it can be fatal for some humans. Their sting is more dangerous than that of local bees and wasps and can cause severe pain, swelling, necrosis and in rare cases even death. 

How did the scientists find the nest where the hornets live? On October 21 and 22 four live hornets were found in separate traps. "Entomologists were able to attach radio trackers to three of the hornets. One of the hornets led them to the nest."

Two days after it was found "the first nest of giant murder hornets ever discovered in the United States was eliminated"  a report from CNN said. The hornets were "vacuumed out of the nest." The owner of the property had given the WSDA Pest Program permission "to remove the nest and the tree if necessary."