First live Asian giant ‘murder hornet’ spotted this year in Washington state

Scientists last week confirmed the first spotting of a live Asian giant “murder hornet” for this year in Washington state.

A Whatcom County resident reported the sighting to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) on Wednesday, including a photograph of an Asian giant hornet attacking a paper wasp nest in a rural area near Blaine, which is south of British Columbia and close to the Canadian border.

The hornet was spotted about two miles from where the first Asian giant hornet nest in the U.S. was eradicated last October. Entomologists confirmed on Thursday that the resident indeed saw an Asian giant hornet.

Asian giant hornets are the world’s largest hornets, reaching just over 2 inches in length, and feed on honey bees and other insects. The invasive pests also spit venom and deliver painful stings that can damage tissue. While these insects are usually not aggressive, they will sting people who disturb them.

“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year – attacking paper wasp nests,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, said in a press release. “If you have paper wasp nests on your property and live in the area, keep an eye on them and report any Asian giant hornets you see. Note the direction they fly off to as well.”

Due to the confirmed sighting, the department said it will be setting traps in the area to try to capture a live hornet, tag it and follow it back to the nest. British Columbia officials will set more traps in Canada since the detection was about half a mile from the U.S. and Canadian border. The hornets have been previously spotted in Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

This is the second detection of these hornets in Washington state. State officials confirmed the first report of an Asian giant hornet in a town north of Seattle in June, according to NPR. But the hornet, which was found on a lawn in Marysville, was dead and “slightly dried out,” according to Mr. Spichiger.

So far, British Columbia has not confirmed any reports of Asian giant hornets.

Although traps have been set up throughout Washington, they have not yet detected any hornets this year, said WSDA.

Last year, there were 31 confirmed sightings of the hornets in Washington state, not including the 500 found in the nest detected and eradicated in Blaine in October, Mr. Spichiger said. British Columbia confirmed six sightings.

The Asian giant hornet was first detected around Vancouver Island in August 2019.

Researchers have been studying hornets captured in North America and comparing them to those found in South Korea, Japan and China. Genetic evidence suggests the hornets in the U.S. closely match those in South Korea, while those in British Columbia are similar to hornets in Japan, Mr. Spichiger said. Scientists are trying to determine if the hornets were introduced to North America on separate occasions.

Experts say the hornets likely traveled through maritime shipments. However, it is unknown if the hornets migrated directly from those countries, said Anne LeBrun, a scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The first confirmed detection of an Asian giant hornet in Washington state occurred in December 2019. The first hornet was trapped last July followed by the capture of several more, all in Whatcom County, which is in the northwest corner of the state and about 60 miles from Fraser Valley.

Hornet queens usually emerge in early spring and form nests filled with workers that grow in size around July into December, Mr. Spichiger said. During the summer, hornets will start searching for a source of protein, such as honey bees, as they expand their colonies.

The hornets at most kill a few dozen people a year in Asian countries. In the U.S., an average of 62 people die each year from hornet, wasp and bee stings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.