After 2 Year Lull, Asian Giant Murder Hornets Investigated in WA

The Washington State Department of Agriculture and other groups now refer to it as the Northern Giant Hornet, but most of us know it as the Asian Giant Murder Hornet.

   After  a 2-year lull, WSDA investigating another sighting

The invasive hornet was first detected in British Columbia in 2019, and in WA State in the same near near Blaine, by the border.

The hornets are native to Asia, and here, have no known predators. They’re much larger than average hornets, and got the name “murder” because they violently attack honeybees, decapitate them, and take over their hives.

They’re considered a threat to the ecosystem.

According to the WSDA:

 “Northern giant hornet attacks and destroys honey bee hives. A few hornets can destroy a hive in a matter of hours. The hornets can enter a “slaughter phase” where they kill entire hives by decapitating the bees. The hornets then defend the hive as their own, taking the brood to feed their own young. They also attack other insects but are not known to destroy entire colonies of those insects. “

After locating several groups of the hornets in 2020-and 2021 in WA, there were no confirmed reports in 2022-23. But now WSDA is investigating a sighting of the insects in the Burley area near Port Orchard, WA.

WSDA and other ag officials say location, elimination and curtailment of these hornets is essential because of the damage they can do. As for how they got here, they may have been accidentally transported as part of international cargo, or perhaps as live insects.  in Asia, hornets are actually eaten.