[ad_1]
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Scientists discovered the first nest of so-called killer hornets in the United States and plan to remove it on Saturday to protect native bees, Washington state officials said.
After weeks of searching, the agency said it found the Asian giant hornet nest in Blaine, a city north of Seattle near the Canadian border. Bad weather delayed plans to destroy the nest on Friday.
The world’s largest hornet at 2 inches (5 centimeters) long, invading insects can decimate entire bee hives and produce painful stings on people. Farmers in the northwestern US depend on those bees to pollinate many crops, including raspberries and blueberries.
Despite their moniker and the hype surrounding the bug that has sparked fears in an already bleak year, hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, and experts say it’s probably a lot less. Meanwhile, hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The real threat from the Asian giant hornets is their devastating attacks on bees, which are already beset by problems like mites, disease, pesticides, and food loss. A small group of hornets can kill an entire hive of bees in hours.
The nest was found after a Washington State Department of Agriculture worker caught two of the large hornets in a trap Wednesday. Two more live hornets were caught in another trap Thursday, the agency said.
Using dental floss, “entomologists were able to connect radio trackers to three hornets, the second of which led to the discovery of the nest” on Thursday, agriculture officials said. Officials planned to hold a press conference later on Friday.
The nest was found inside a tree cavity on private property, the Department of Agriculture said. Dozens of hornets were seen moving in and out of the tree.
The property owner has given agency staff permission to eradicate the nest and remove the tree, if necessary.
Scientists from the department have been searching for nests since the first Asian giant hornets were captured earlier this year. The first confirmed detection of the hornet in the US was in December 2019 near Blaine and the first hornet was caught in July. Just over 20 have been captured so far, all in Whatcom County.
The invasive insect is normally found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. Authorities have said how it got to North America is unknown. The state of Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia are the only places where hornets have been found on the continent.
