SPOKANE, Washington — Scientists will set about 1,000 traps this year in their quest to wipe out the Asian giant hornet in Washington, the state Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
Scientists believe the hornets, first detected in the state in 2019, are confined in Whatcom County, which is located on the Canadian border north of Seattle.
“We are doing pretty good right now,” said Sven-Erik Spichiger, who is leading the fight to eradicate the hornets for the Department of Agriculture. “We know about where the nests are located in Whatcom County.”
The insects are the world’s largest hornets, with queens reaching up to five centimetres. They are considered invasive in North America for their ability to kill other bee and hornet species, which is how they got the nickname “murder hornets.”
Hornets caught in traps help scientists find the location of nests. The state eradicated three nests last year, all near the town of Blaine, Washington, and there have been no confirmed reports of Asian giant hornet nests so far this year, Spichiger said.
Most of the traps will be set in northern Whatcom County, but a few will be set in the city of Bellingham, he said.
The agency is also encouraging residents to set their own traps, to cover more ground.
B.C. started its trapping program May 1, concentrating on traps laced with fruit juice and fermenting grapes, from White Rock to Aldergrove in the Fraser Valley, close to the U.S. border.
Canada's first nest of Asian giant hornets was found near Nanaimo in 2019. A group of beekeepers discovered and destroyed the nest, which was in the roots of a tree in a park. One of the beekeepers was stung at least seven times during the operation and likened it to having “red-hot thumbtacks being driven into the flesh,” while another Island man compared a sting to being hit in the chest.
No specimens or sightings have been found or reported since then, and Vancouver Island is considered free of the insects.
The insects have also been spotted in White Rock and the Fraser Valley.
The hornets will not be considered eradicated until Washington has gone three full years with no detections, the agency said. The first confirmed detection of an Asian giant hornet in Washington was made in December 2019.
Spichiger said the Entomological Society of America is also working to establish an official name for the insect. Asian giant hornet, or the popular nickname murder hornet, are not official names, he said.
The hornets can deliver a painful sting, which can result in death if a person is stung repeatedly. Asian giant hornets rarely attack humans unless provoked. About 30 to 50 people die annually from Asian giant hornet stings in Japan, one of their native habitats.
Meanwhile, hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
— With a file from the Times Colonist
