MURDER HORNETS ELIMINATED IN THE USA? NO, THEY ARE STILL AROUND

              MURDER HORNETS ELIMINATED IN THE USA?  

   NO, THEY ARE STILL AROUND

In October 2020 we thought they were “eliminated” - the Asian giant hornets, also called “murder hornets” that were seen earlier in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

In December 2019, some Asian giant hornets were seen near Blaine, Washington, near to the Canadian Border in the Pacific Northwest. That was the first time that the insects were seen in the United States. 

The insect “normally lives in the forests and low mountains of eastern and southeast Asia and feeds on large insects including wasps and bees,” Nicholas K. Geranios wrote in AP News in May 2020.

“It’s a shockingly large hornet” a WSU Extension entomologist and invasive species specialist, Todd Murray said. He added that the creature is a health hazard and a significant predator of honeybees. 

The stings of the hornet are “big and painful.” Multiple stings can kill humans. In the late summer and early fall the hornets “attack the hives of honeybees, kill the adult bees and eat the larvae and pupae.”

The AP News report noted that in the Northwest region of the United States apples, blueberries and cherries are important crops. Farmers rely on honeybees to pollinate these crops. But “with the threat from the giant hornets beekeepers may be reluctant to bring their hives here,” Island County Extension scientist Tim Lawrence commented.

After the first known nest of the “murder hornets” was destroyed “hornets in various life stages were collected including approximately 200 queens,” the report on ABC News said.

“We got there just in time,” the entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger who is in charge said. “From accounts we have we are close to having most of the queen bees, but I can’t give you an absolute certainty that we got every single one from the nest.”

“Meanwhile Washington officials have set hundreds of traps to fight the invasive species and eliminate them from the state,” the report said.

The murder hornets are expected to “go dormant” around Thanksgiving but some could still be flying around in December. “The more people are outside and looking at this time of year the more chances we have,” Mr. Spichiger told ABC.

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