Do you remember those pesky Asian Giant Hornets (nicknamed "Murder Hornets") we have reported on back in May? They were spotted in Washington state last year and they didn't just go away. In fact, they could soon activate their search and destroy mode.
Before everyone panics, it's important to note that only six Asian giant hornets have been caught, caught, or reported in Washington state since September 21 since they were first sighted last year. The hiding place of the murder hornet - their nest - was never found or destroyed.
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Researchers from the Washington State Department of Agriculture first tried Stick a radio tag on a living murder hornet, I hope you could follow it back to its nest. Unfortunately, the glue failed and got into the hornet's wings, which meant the hornet couldn't fly home.
So the WSDA needs help locating the nest kill remaining murder hornets before they move into a much more aggressive mode: the slaughter phase.
"Asian giant hornets are starting what is known as the slaughter phase at this time of year," WSDA entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger told the Seattle Times on October 2nd. "They'll visit apiaries, basically mark a beehive and attack it." in power to remove each bee from the hive, decapitate them, kill all workers, and then spend the next few days harvesting the brood and pupae from the hive for a source of food. "
The WSDA is still using various methods to locate the Asian giant hornets. They put bait hives around Birch Bay as bait. This is roughly the same area where the first Asian giant hornet was caught in Washington that summer.
Fortunately, while these murder hornets may be on a mission to destroy all bees, humans avoid their kill list during the slaughter phase.
Asian giant hornets have a nasty sting, but despite their nickname, murder hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asia, and some entomologists say it's probably far fewer. The WSDA stresses not being a hero or trying to catch them on your own if you see them flying around your yard.
"Chase it, don't hit it," said Spichiger. "We want to take out the nest so we won't have any more next year."
The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) is described as 1.5 to 2 inches long with an orange-yellow head and black stripes on the belly. Because of their size, the insects are pretty easy to spot.
The department wants anyone who sees a potential Asian giant hornet to report it to them so that researchers can better determine where the insects have been hiding before the "slaughter phase" begins.
There are several ways humans can report sightings of murder hornets. Log in using the Hornet Watch report form or send an email to hornets@agr.wa.gov. If you don't have access to email or the Internet, you can call them at (800) 443-6684.
Beekeepers who may have a beehive that is being attacked by murder hornets should call (360) 902-1880 and tell the department which direction the hornets are going so the nest can be found more quickly.