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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – When scientists in Washington state destroyed the first nest of so-called murderous hornets found in the United States, they discovered around 500 living specimens in different stages of development, said Tuesday responsible.
Among them, nearly 200 queens had the potential to create their own nests, said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist leading the fight to kill hornets.
“ We got there just in time, ” he said.
Yet that hasn’t ended the threat of giant insects that can inflict painful but rarely fatal stings on people and wipe out entire hives of honey bees.
Scientists believe other nests already exist and say it’s impossible to know if any queens escaped until the first nest was destroyed.
The Asian giant hornets, an invasive pest that is not native to the United States, are the world’s largest hornet measuring two inches in length and a predator of other insects, including honey bees that pollinate many crops of several billion dollars in Washington. agricultural industry in dollars.
Despite their nickname and the hype that has fueled fears in an already gloomy year, hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, and experts say it’s likely much less. By comparison, the hornets, wasps and bees that are typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first deadly hornet’s nest – found in a tree and destroyed in late October in Whatcom County along the Canadian border – was about the size of a basketball. It was located after state scientists trapped several hornets and attached radio trackers to some of them using dental floss.
Inside. the researchers found:
—190 larvae in total which developed from eggs.
—108 pupae, the next stage after the larvae. They were almost all queens.
—112 workers, including 85 workers previously sucked out of the nest.
– 76 queens, almost all new virgin queens. New queens emerge from the nest, mate, then set off to find a place to overwinter and then start a new colony.
Most of the specimens were still alive when the nest was opened, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which plans to continue trapping hornets for at least three years to determine if the area is free.
The first Asian giant hornet was found in the state a year ago and the first was trapped in July. Several more were later captured in Whatcom County. Deadly hornets have also been found in British Columbia, Canada.
Spichiger said it’s impossible to determine how the hornets got to the area, but the goal is to annihilate them before they establish and spread.
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