First ‘murder hornet’ found in US in 2021

Scientists confirmed an Asian giant hornet, also known as a “murder hornet,” has been found in Washington state this week, the first confirmed report of the insect in 2021. 

Entomologists from Washington state and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a Wednesday statement that a resident near Marysville, Wash., reported a dead hornet earlier this month. When entomologists collected the bug several days later, it was “very dried out and they observed that it was a male hornet.” 

State and federal officials do not believe that the recent discovery is connected to the 2019-2020 discoveries of the hornets in Canada and elsewhere in Washington state. 

Entomologists said they believe that the bug discovered this month is an “old hornet from a previous season that wasn’t discovered until now,” according to the Wednesday statement. 

They noted that new male hornets do not typically emerge until July, and there is “no obvious pathway” for how the insect got to the area. 

“Last year, the first males emerged in late July, which was earlier than expected. However, we will work with WSDA [Washington State Department of Agriculture] to survey the area to verify whether a population exists in Snohomish County,” Osama El-Lissy, deputy administrator for the USDA plant protection and quarantine program, said in the Wednesday statement.

Sven Spichiger, WSDA’s managing entomologist, said in the Wednesday statement that the agency will “now be setting traps in the area and encouraging citizen scientists to trap in Snohomish and King counties.”

“None of this would have happened without an alert resident taking the time to snap a photo and submit a report,” he added.

The insects are native to Asia and are the world’s largest hornets. They are largely a predator of honeybees and other insects, with a small group of hornets able to kill an entire honey bee hive in hours.

Victims of murder hornet stings have described the feeling as hot metal piercing skin. The insects can break through beekeeper suits.

Scientists discovered the first murder hornet nest in the country in Washington state last year.