Members of the Washington State Department of Agriculture hrnet eradication pose for a photo in October of 2022 after removing the first hornet nest detected in the United States. Photo courtesy Washington State Department of Agriculture/Release
Federal and state officials have declared the eradication of the so-called murder hornet from the United States, five years after the invasive species was first detected in the country.
The eradication of the northern giant hornet, formerly known as the Asian giant hornet, was announced in a remote press conference Wednesday by the Washington State and U.S. departments of agriculture, which said there has not been a sighting of the insect in three years. Advertisement
“I got to tell you, as an entomologist, I’ve been doing this for over 25 years now and it is a rare day when the humans actually get to win one against the insects,” said Sven Spichiger, WSDA pest program manager.
According to officials, the hornets first gained widespread attention in the United States in 2013, when it was reported that 42 people were killed and another 1,675 were severely injured by the insect in China that year. Advertisement
This prompted agriculture officials in the United States to create a framework to respond to the northern giant hornet in 2016. In 2019, Washington State added the hornet to its invasive species handbook warning residents to be on the lookout.
That August, the hornets were detected in Canada’s British Columbia. Then on Dec. 8, a resident of Whatcom County, Wash., reported the United States’ first murder hornet. A beekeeper had also collected a few specimens but didn’t report them until the summer of 2020.
“So we knew we already had a problem,” Spichiger said.
Spichiger said a plan was implemented “almost immediately,” and in the spring of 2020, traps were set to try and catch emerging murder hornet queens.
“The basic framework, which was pretty simple: it’s set out traps, if you find them, switch to live traps. When you get a live hornet, follow it back to its nest and then take out the nest,” he said. “It’s a real easy statement but that is basically the plan of it and this is what we implemented.”
The first murder hornet nest was detected in a cavity of a tree in Washington State in October of 2020.
Three additional nests were detected and eradicated the next year. Advertisement
Spichiger said the last trap they erected to catch the insect was removed Dec. 5, 2021, the three-year mark of which was passed earlier this month, enabling the officials to declare the murder hornet eradicated.
“It’s a significant victory for everybody who’s involved and all of Washington can actually be proud, especially those who hung traps and those who called in reports,” Spichiger said.
According to officials, had the hornets been able to establish their presence in the country, honey bees, pollinators and other native insects would have been put at significant risks. They also pose a threat to humans, as their sting is more dangerous than that of a honey bee, they said.
“What can I say? I’m just extremely excited to be able to announce this today, and although it is an absolute significant victory — we won this battle — the battle will continue,” he said, as they will be on the lookout for the introduction of new invasive species.
