First 2021 Giant Murder Hornet Discovery Prompts Officials to Set Traps, Destroy Nests

A giant murder hornet has, for the first time this year, been discovered in a new site in the United States. Specifically, the dead insect was discovered in a county of Washington state, just north of Seattle, early this month.

As specified in a ScienceAlert report, DNA testing has since verified it as Vespa mandarinia, or Asian giant hornet.

The size of the Vespa mandarinia, as described by the University of Florida, is unrivaled, and their unique markings make it simply identifiable from other Asian hornet species.

Since the corpse was remarkably dry, experts think it has been dead for quite some time already and is most likely a relic from the last season.

Being male, tending to emerge until July or later, enhances the occurrence for it being an older specimen. At the time, nobody was aware there were giant hornets this far south.

Initial Detection of the Giant Murder Hornet

A similar Yahoo! News report specified, in late 2019 and early 2020, the Asian giant hornets' first nests were detected in British Columbia and the US, right close to the border of Canada.

How the giant murder hornets got to this part of the world remains unclear, although since these pests can decapitate entire beehives in just a couple of hours, they represent a gigantic threat to local agriculture and ecosystems.

Since these hornets' presence is known, Washington state's government officials have actively been setting traps for these insects that destroy all the nests they could find.

However, up until to date, these initiatives have been focused primarily on northwestern parts of the state. The new corpse, discovered close to the city of Marysville, suggested officials should expand their quest.

Essentiality of Reporting Suspected Intrusive Species

Entomologists that the state employed are actively surveying counties further south at present to find out if a population is existing there, too.

The DNA, as well as the coloring of the corpse discovered in Snohomish county, does not appear to match the hornets found on the Canadian border, suggesting there could be a separate, unrelated invasion in other areas of the state.

If that finding appears to be true, officials should know sooner instead of later. Since giant murder hornets are such strong fliers, their populations can transmit easily, which will make it quite more difficult to track their nests down for extermination.

The new finding, according to Sven Spichiger, an entomologist from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, continues to highlight how essential public reporting is for all suspected intrusive species, but specifically giant hornet.

To Set Traps in the Area

Spichiger explained, they would be setting traps in the area and urging citizen scientists to trap in Snohomish and King counties.

None of these would have taken place without an alert resident taking the snap to capture an image and submit a report.

Inactive during winter, giant murder hornets are expected to begin emerging once again in July. It remains to be seen where they will arise this year, although Washington officials totally expect such pests to have transmitted to other parts of the state. The dead insect from close to Marysville could be a sign of what is yet to come.

A similar report is shown on KING 5' YouTube video below: