Agriculture officials found the first giant hornet nest of 2021 last week in Washington state. The nest, located near Blaine, Washington, is about a quarter-mile away from the first reported giant hornet spotting this year on August 11. A Washington state tracking team, along with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, located the nest.
WSDA netted, tagged with a tracker and released three hornets. One hornet slipped out of the tracking device, another hornet was never located, and one eventually led the team to the nest. Entomologists will now develop their plans to eradicate the nest, happening this week. Asian giant hornets, also known as murder hornets, are not native to the United States. They are the world’s largest hornet and prey on honeybees and other insects. This is the first known nest found this year, and agriculture officials in the Pacific Northwest believe more are undiscovered.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting and the American Farm Bureau Federation contributed to this report.