Published 2:45 pm Thursday, August 12, 2021
An Asian giant hornet was photographed attacking a paper wasp nest at a home east of Blaine, Wash., the state Department of Agriculture confirmed Thursday.
The hornet, identified from a photo submitted Wednesday by the resident, is the first live Asian giant hornet seen by the department this year, a spokeswoman said.
The sighting occurred a half mile from the Canadian border and 2 miles from where the department eradicated a nest in October. At the time, the department said some hornets may have escaped.
The department found the nest last fall under similar circumstances. A homeowner reported Asian giant hornets around a wasp’s next. The department captured a live one and tracked it to a nest in a tree cavity.
“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year — attacking paper wasps,” agriculture department entomologist Sven Spichiger said in a statement.
The department will intensify trapping in the area in hopes of again capturing a live hornet. If one is caught, entomologists will try to tie on an electronic device and follow the hornet to its nest.
Asian giant hornets are the world’s largest wasps. They were unknown in North America until 2019. Live Hornets have been found in Whatcom County, Wash., and across the border in British Columbia.
About 70 miles farther south, a dead specimen was found this year in Snohomish County, about 35 miles north of Seattle. Entomologists say it’s a mystery how the hornet got there.
No Asian giant hornets have been trapped this year in Washington or British Columbia.
Popularly known as “murder hornets,” the wasps have a painful sting and prey on bees and other pollinators.
The agriculture department analyzed frass, or excrement, and found that Asian giant hornets in Washington have eaten flies, moths, wasps, hornets, honeybees, butterflies, yellow jackets and dragonflies.
Cow also showed up, leading the department to speculate an Asian giant hornet found a hamburger patty.
