Two more Asian ’murder hornets’ found in Washington State, WSDA officials say

Live traps have been set up in the Birch Bay area since the sightings

Washington State Department of Agriculture entomologist Chris Looney displays a dead Asian giant hornet, a sample brought in for research, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Blaine, Wash. The new Asian hornets that have been found in Washington state may be deadly to honeybees, but bug experts say the Asian giant hornet is not a big threat to people. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, Pool) (Elaine Thompson)

Two more Asian Giant Hornets, or otherwise referred to as ‘murder hornets,’ have been spotted in Washington State, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Both hornets were found on Aug. 19. The first hornet was found as WSDA and USDA workers were setting up experimental traps in the Birch Bay area, officials said in a press release.

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The traps were set up near an area where an unmated queen ’murder hornet’ was trapped in July.

As WSDA officials were setting up traps in the area, they found another trap that was set by a local beekeeper and found a dead worker Asian Giant Hornet inside. The deceased giant hornet was “smaller than the specimens detected up to that point,” officials said.

Another ’murder hornet’ was found after a resident posted a picture of it on Facebook, claiming the insect was at a restaurant on Birch Bay Drive.

The resident was dining outside when the hornet flew up, according to WSDA officials. They were able to get a photo of it before it flew away without being caught.

After these two recent sightings of the hornets, the WSDA set up live traps in Birch Bay on Aug. 20.

The traps will allow for the hornets to be caught alive and officials will then tag them and track them back to their colony. WSDA officials said once the colony is found, it will be eradicated.

To learn more about the WSDA and what they are doing to track the ’murder hornets,’ click here.

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