A horrifying discovery
The first ‘murder hornet’ in America (in a town north of Seattle) this year was discovered in June, but it was lifeless.
The hornets of 2 inches long are come from Asia and represent a danger to honeybees and native hornet species. They were first discovered along the US-Canadian border in December 2019. Albeit they are not hostile with people, their sting is highly painful, and successive stings, while uncommon, can be fatal.
A citizen in Washington state described seeing the first alive ‘murder hornet’ of 2021 this week, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture. It is unknown how they arrived here from Asia, however cargo ships are thought to be involved in the process of their transportation.
On Thursday, entomologists verified the occurrence. A picture of the hornet destroying a paper wasp nest in a rural location east of Blaine, roughly two miles from where state officials exterminated the first Asian giant hornet nest in the United States last October, was enclosed in the citizen’s statement.
A threat to human health
After experts annihilated the nest, they discovered over 500 living hornets, including roughly 200 queens with the ability to create their own nests. Researchers in the United States and Canada reported attempts earlier this year to limit the spread of the species, and they describe it as a severe threat to human health and well-being.
The world’s biggest hornet can be deadly to people, but it is far more dangerous to honeybees, which are used to fertilize crops. Sven Spichiger, a state entomologist who has been directing the campaign against the invasion, explains that this type of hornet is repeating last year’s habit of destroying paper wasp nests. He then added that if you reside in the region and have paper wasp nests, keep a watch on them and report any Asian giant hornets you encounter, also while taking note of their flight path as well.
The USDA will deploy traps in the vicinity in the hopes of catching a live hornet, tagging it, and tracking it back to its nest. Due to the fact that the detection occurred just half a mile from the border, the government of British Columbia will also install traps in Canada, according to the state.
Agriculture experts think the hornet was from a past period and was just recently discovered for its shriveled condition and the fact that male gigantic hornets don’t normally appear until July.
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