Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
The ‘Murder Hornet’ Has Been Eradicated From US, Officials Say
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 6 days ago on
December 18, 2024

In photo provided by the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture, an Asian Giant Hornet wearing a tracking device is shown Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 near Blaine, Wash. (Karla Salp/Washington Dept. of Agriculture via AP)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SEATTLE — The hunt for the “murder hornet” in the northwest corner of Washington state began like a criminal investigation, with bee carcasses creating a crime scene and the public being asked to send tips about the potential culprit’s whereabouts.

Search grids were created. Traps were set. Soon, state entomologists were able to capture some of the wayward hornets, affixing tiny tracking devices on the insects to trace them back to their lairs. Crews wearing otherworldly protective equipment moved in to eliminate the nests.

Officials believe it all worked. On Wednesday, five years after the invasive hornets were sighted for the first time in Washington state, state and federal agencies announced that they had successfully eradicated the species. That dispelled their initial fears that the hornet might spread rapidly enough to establish itself in the United States for good.

“We are proud of this landmark victory in the fight against invasive species,” said Mark Davidson, the deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Washington State Officials Goes 3 Years Without New Hornet Finds

In total, Washington state officials found four nests related to the introduction of the hornet in Whatcom County, a berry-farming area along the Canadian border. The state has now gone three years without any new hornet discoveries in that region.

Officials acknowledged the possibility that a new invasion might happen in the future, especially given that they remained uncertain how the insect — a native of Asia known among entomologists as Vespa mandarini or the northern giant hornet — was introduced into the region.

The state was still investigating another reported hornet discovery about 100 miles away from the original nests. Officials did not believe the new hornet was connected to the prior introduction and had not found any other evidence of the hornet establishing itself, but they deployed traps to monitor the area.

“They got here once, and they could do it again,” said Sven Spichiger, the pest program manager at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Mike Baker
c. 2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Illegal Immigrant Faces Murder Charges in Death of Woman Lit on Fire in NYC Subway

UP NEXT

$1M Investment in Fresno Lender to Help Small Businesses Get Funding

Fresno State Tossed by Northern Illinois in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

11 hours ago

2 Rescued After Santa Cruz Wharf Partially Collapses Due to Heavy Surf From Major Pacific Storm

12 hours ago

Illegal Immigrant Faces Murder Charges in Death of Woman Lit on Fire in NYC Subway

A man is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her ...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Illegal Immigrant Faces Murder Charges in Death of Woman Lit on Fire in NYC Subway

11 hours ago

$1M Investment in Fresno Lender to Help Small Businesses Get Funding

11 hours ago

Who Is Making a Difference in Fresno? Explore This List of 2024’s Shining Stars

11 hours ago

Fresno State Tossed by Northern Illinois in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

A closed wharf is seen in Santa Cruz, Calif., Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, after the pier partially collapsed and fell into the ocean. (AP/Martha Mendoza)
12 hours ago

2 Rescued After Santa Cruz Wharf Partially Collapses Due to Heavy Surf From Major Pacific Storm

12 hours ago

Spain Faces Threats of Terrorism and Unrest, US Warns in Travel Advisory

12 hours ago

Bill Clinton Is Hospitalized With a Fever but in Good Spirits, Spokesperson Says

13 hours ago

Media Relations Expert Leaves City Hall for Valley Children’s Hospital

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend