1st Live Asian Giant 'Murder Hornet' Of 2021 Spotted In Washington State

 

The first live Asian giant "murder hornet" of 2021 has been spotted in Washington state — and it was caught in the act of living up to its name, attacking a wasp nest.

Entomologists on Thursday confirmed the report of Vespa mandarinia — the world's largest hornet and a worrisome invasive species that originates from East Asia and Japan — by a person in a rural area east of the town of Blaine, south of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the Canadian border.

The location of the sighting confirmed on Thursday is only about 2 miles from where the first Asian giant hornet nest was eradicated in October.

While the paper wasps being attacked by the Asian giant hornet in the latest sighting might disagree, honeybees probably have more to worry about, the state agriculture department says.

"These hornets may attack honey bee hives in the late summer or early fall," the department's news release says. "A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours."...MORE