Photo: WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The first live Asian giant hornet of 2021 has been spotted in Washington state.
Scientists shared a photograph of the insect — whose potential to poison its victims has earned it the nickname “murder hornet” —near a wasp nest in a rural area near Blaine, about two miles from where the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)eradicated the country’s first hornet nestin October 2020.
“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year — attacking paper wasp nests,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, warned local residents in a statement. “If you have paper wasp nests on your property and live in the area, keep an eye on them and report any Asian giant hornets you see. Note the direction they fly off to as well.”
The agency stated that they will be setting live traps in the area in hopes of catching hornets alive and tracking them back to their nests. The British Columbia government will conduct similar protocols, as the sighting occurred about half a mile from the Canadian border, the release said.
Murder hornet.Getty
If the species manages to establish itself in Washington and surrounding areas, it will create “negative impacts on the environment, economy, and public health,” theWSDA said.
According toThe New York Times,the Asian giant hornets — native to temperate and tropical areas such as East Asia, South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia — kill up to 50 people a year in Japan. The insect’s toxic venom can equal that of a venomous snake, the outlet reported.
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While the Asian giant hornet does not generally attack people or pets, itcan when threatened.
“Their stings are big and painful, with a potent neurotoxin,” Seth Truscott, of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at WSU, previously toldWSU Insider. “Multiple stings can kill humans, even if they are not allergic.”
According to theAssociated Press, officials are still unaware of how the insect arrived stateside.
source: people.com
