First "murder hornet" nest in the US found in Washington State

The team of entomologists studying the Asian Giant Hornets (dubbed murder hornets) have officially found the first nest in the United States, and it’s located in Washington State.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture will be holding a press conference this afternoon in order to unfurl the information gathered by entomologists on the scene.

“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,” reads the press release from the WSDA. “Two more hornets, also living, were found in another trap the morning of Oct. 22 when WSDA staff arrived in the area to tag the previously trapped hornets with radio trackers and follow one back to its nest.”

The rumors are true – our entomologists located the first-ever #AsianGiantHornet nest in the U.S. late yesterday. Press conference at 2 p.m. pic.twitter.com/oXuE6urXff

— WA St Dept of Agr (@WSDAgov) October 23, 2020

The discovered nest — which lays inside a tree cavity — was located on private property. The owners of the property have given permission to the agriculture department to eradicate the nest or remove the tree entirely, if necessary.

• See also:
  • A murder hornet has been discovered in Bellingham
  • Another Asian giant “murder” hornet spotted in Washington State
  • “Murder Hornets” have been a problem in Washington for several months

“WSDA has been actively searching for Asian giant hornet nests since the first such hornets were caught earlier this year,” continues the WSDA update. “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.”

Anyone can attend today’s virtual press conference, hosted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, on their Facebook page or their YouTube channel.