Agriculture officials found the first giant hornet nest of 2021 last week in Washington state. The nest was found near Blaine, Washington, which is about a quarter-mile away from the first reported giant hornet spotting this year on August 11th. A Washington state tracking team, along with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, located the nest.
WSDA netted, tagged with a tracker, and released three hornets earlier this year. One hornet slipped out of the tracking device, another hornet was never located, and one eventually led the team to the nest.
Entomologists will now develop their plans to get rid of the nest this week. Asian giant hornets, also known as murder hornets, are not native to the United States. They are the world’s largest hornet and prey on honeybees and other insects. This is the first known nest found this year, and agriculture officials in the Pacific Northwest believe more are undiscovered.
