The Washington State Department of Agriculture is investigating a report of a possible northern giant hornet found in Kitsap County.
is native to Asia and was first found in the U.S. in Blaine near the U.S.-Canadian border in 2019. The invasive insects have been the target of eradication efforts in Whatcom County and British Columbia after hornets were discovered in both locations.Monday it could not confirm whether the report is a northern giant hornet as officials have not been able to obtain the specimen.
“If we are able to obtain a specimen, we can conduct DNA testing to determine how likely it is that a new specimen is related to the Whatcom County specimens or whether it is a new introduction,” theThe insects are the world's largest hornets, with queens reaching up to 2 inches long. They are considered invasive in North America for their ability to kill other bee and hornet species, which is how they got the nickname "murder hornets.
Washington state entomologists have eradicated a total of four northern giant hornet nests since the end of 2021. All four nests were found in western Whatcom County. No hornets were detected in Washington state in 2022 and 2023., which left scientists perplexed by the finding at the time. A resident found the dead hornet in Marysville and reported the finding to officials.The specimen was very dried out when WSDA entomologists retrieved the hornet in 2021 and were able to confirm it was a male.
Scientists said at the time that new males usually don’t emerge until at least July - and there is no obvious pathway for how the hornet got to Marysville. While there haven’t been any confirmed sightings of northern giant hornets in the U.S. for a couple of years, officials are asking residents in Kitsap County to “keep an eye open and report any suspect sightings.”
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