Washington state officials say they have destroyed the first Asian giant hornet nest of the year near Canada.
The nest, found at the bottom of a dead alder tree east of Blaine in rural Whatcom County, contained about 1,500 hornets and was eradicated Wednesday, the state’s agriculture department said in a statement this week.
The nest was about two miles from one that officials destroyed in October and was a quarter-mile from where a resident reported spotting a giant hornet on Aug. 11.
Asian giant hornets are the world’s largest hornets, reaching just over 2 inches in length, and feed on honey bees and other insects. The invasive pests, which are not native to North America, also spit venom and deliver painful stings that can damage tissue. While they are usually not aggressive, they will sting people who disturb them
State Department of Agriculture staff on Wednesday vacuumed 113 worker hornets from the nest and then caught 67 more with nets. When they removed the bark and decayed wood along the bottom of the alder tree, they found the nest containing almost 1,500 hornets in various stages of development tucked inside the tree.
“While we are glad to have found and eradicated this nest so early in the season, this detection proves how important public reporting continues to be,” said Sven Spichiger, the agency’s managing entomologist, in a statement. “We expect there are more nests out there and, like this one, we hope to find them before they can produce new queens. Your report may be the one that leads us to a nest.”
The agriculture department said it will continue to trap Asian giant hornets through the end of November.
Last year, there were 31 confirmed sightings of the hornets in the state, not including the 500 found in the nest detected and eradicated in Blaine in October, Mr. Spichiger said. Officials in British Columbia, Canada, confirmed six sightings.
The Asian giant hornet was first detected around Vancouver Island in August 2019.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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