How the First Asian Giant Hornet Nest in the U.S. Was Found

Posted by Paul Rusnak|October 26, 2020

The Asian giant hornet (aka, “Murder Hornet”) is trying to make itself right at home in the Pacific Northwest. After weeks of trapping and searching for the world’s largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists located an Asian giant hornet nest on a property in Blaine – the first ever such nest found in the U.S.

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Researchers in the Pacific Northwest have been watching for Asian giant hornets. Through innovative efforts, they have located the first nest in the U.S.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture
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The Asian giant hornet is typically 1.5 to 2 inches in length. The invasive pest can decimate entire bee colonies in a matter of hours.
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Apparently, Asian giant hornets are found of eating jam. That's one way to distract them while attaching tiny tracking devices to their lower body.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture
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Attaching a tracking device to an Asian giant hornet is not easy. Entomologists used dental floss to secure the mini device to the hornet.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture
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This Asian giant hornet is hooked up with a tracking device that scientists hope will lead to where more of the invasive pests are hold up. It turns out that method worked.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture
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A cavity of an old tree on a private property in Blaine, WA, was the site of the first Asian giant hornet nest found in the U.S. by researchers.
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture

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The successful detection of a nest comes after a WSDA trapper collected two live Asian giant hornets on Oct. 21, caught in a new type of trap the agency had placed in the area. Two more hornets, also living, were found in another trap the next morning when WSDA staff arrived in the area to tag the previously trapped hornets with radio trackers and follow one back to its nest.

The entomologists were able to attach radio trackers to three hornets, the second of which led them to the discovery of the nest.

The nest was inside the cavity of a tree located on private property near an area cleared for a residential home. While Asian giant hornets normally nest in the ground, they are occasionally found nesting in dead trees. Dozens of the hornets were seen entering and exiting the tree while the WSDA team was present.

The removal of the Asian giant hornet nest thereafter was successful. The WSDA Pest Program vacuumed numerous specimens out of the nest.

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WSDA has been actively searching for Asian giant hornet nests since the first such hornets were caught earlier this year. The first confirmed detection of an Asian giant hornet in Washington was made in December 2019 and the first hornet trapped in July of this year. Several more were subsequently caught, all in Whatcom County.

FYI: A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours.

For more about the on-the-ground efforts to trap and eradicate the Asian giant hornet, visit agr.wa.gov/hornets.

Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media Worldwide brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.