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(CNN) – The first giant “killer hornet” nest ever discovered in the United States was removed two days after its location in Washington state.
The Asian giant hornet nest was found Thursday at 4 p.m. local time by entomologists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) in a tree cavity on a property near the town of Blaine. .
WSDA staff searched the nest via radio trackers that had linked to several captured hornets. They saw dozens of insects going in and out of the tree.
An attempt to eradicate the nest took place on Saturday and “appears to have been successful,” WSDA said in a short statement. “The WSDA Pest Program aspirated numerous specimens from the nest,” he added.
An Asian giant hornet appears in a tree on a property near Blaine, Washington, where an insect nest was discovered.
The property owner had given the department permission to remove the nest and also the tree if necessary, WSDA noted Friday.
The department will give more information on the removal operation, which was postponed from Friday to Saturday due to “inclement weather,” at a press conference on October 26.
Asian giant hornets, which are not native to the U.S., were first discovered in Washington state in December last year, prompting WSDA to set up a statewide trap web with the help of citizen scientists. The first hornet was captured in the state in July.
A small group of these hornets, which are the largest in the world, can kill a hive of honey bees “in a matter of hours,” according to WSDA. They usually nest on the ground, but can also be found in dead trees.
