A live Asian giant hornet has been sighted in Washington this week, making it the first confirmed report of the insect in the state this year, NBC News reports citing the state Department of Agriculture.
According to the media outlet, another such hornet was found north of Seattle earlier this summer, but that insect was dead.
The live specimen of the so called “murder hornet” was detected east of the city of Blaine, about two miles from the site where state officials wiped out an Asian giant hornets’ nest last year – the first such nest to be discovered in the United States.
Washington's State Department of Agriculture Managing Entomologist Sven Spichiger reportedly said that the hornet was attacking paper wasp nests, and asked people living “in the area with those wasp nests” to report any sightings of Asian giant hornets.
They may pose a threat to the agricultural sector since they attack honeybees, which, as the media outlet points out, are “vital pollinators for agriculture” – the hornets’ powerful sting also makes them a threat to humans.
Commonly found in – you guessed it – Asian countries, Asian giant hornets were first spotted in North America in 2019 in the Vancouver Island area of Canada, British Columbia, and Washington state.