WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – The state Department of Agriculture has captured an Asian giant hornet in one of their traps in Whatcom County.
The invasive hornet was found in a trap near Birch Bay on July 14th.
Managing entomologist Sven Spichiger says the next step is to trap a live hornet and follow it to its nest.
He says they’ve had some success in practice in placing trackers on native yellow jackets.
They have crews ready to destroy any Asian giant hornet nests they find.
That work would be done at night.
Spichiger says it’s likely that there are more nests and he thanks the many citizens who have added their traps to the hundreds deployed by the department.
The Asian giant hornet isn’t especially dangerous to humans but can be devastating to native honey bee colonies.
