The notorious “murder hornet” is back, according to authorities in the state of Washington.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture announced Thursday that agency entomologists this week confirmed the first sighting of the live insect, referred to more formally as the Asian giant hornet, in 2021.
A resident of Whatcom County, near the U.S. border with Canada, submitted a report to the state on Aug. 11, which included a photo of the hornet attacking a wasp nest, the agency said in a news release.
The hornet was seen near the city of Blaine, which is about two miles from where WSDA encountered and eradicated the nation’s first murder hornet nest last October, the agency said.
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“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year — attacking paper wasp nests,” said Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist for the state agriculture department. “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.”
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The agency said it will be setting live traps in the area to catch, tag, and therefore track live hornets back to their nest.
The invasive species, which is not native to the United States, prey on honey bees and other insects, and a group of them can kill an entire hive of bees, the agency said.
Last October, the agency destroyed a nest of the insects that contained more than 500 live hornets in various stages of development.
