The ‘murder hornet’ has been eradicated from US, officials say

SEATTLE — The hunt for the “murder hornet” in the northwest corner of Washington state began like a criminal investigation, with bee carcasses creating a crime scene and the public being asked to send tips about the potential culprit’s whereabouts.

Search grids were created. Traps were set. Soon, state entomologists were able to capture some of the wayward hornets, affixing tiny tracking devices on the insects to trace them back to their lairs. Crews wearing otherworldly protective equipment moved in to eliminate the nests with vacuums and carbon dioxide.

Officials believe it all worked. On Wednesday, five years after the invasive hornets were sighted for the first time in Washington state, state and federal agencies announced that they had successfully eradicated the species from that hot spot and the nation. That dispelled their initial fears that the hornet might spread rapidly enough to establish itself in the United States for good.

“As an entomologist, I’ve been doing this for over 25 years now, and it is a rare day when the humans actually get to win one against the insects,” said Sven Spichiger, the pest program manager at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Nicole Russo, an associate deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, called the eradication a “landmark victory” to celebrate.

In total, Washington state officials found four nests related to the introduction of the hornet in Whatcom County, an area along the Canadian border where farmers cultivate millions of pounds of raspberries and blueberries each year. The state has now gone three years without any new hornet discoveries in that region.

Officials acknowledged the possibility that a new invasion could happen in the future, especially given that they remained uncertain how the insect, a native of Asia known among entomologists as the northern giant hornet, was introduced into the region. Spichiger said that the hornet most likely arrived from a mated queen that sought shelter for the winter — perhaps in a vehicle, shipping container or potted plant that was then brought to the area.

The northwest corner of Washington state provided an ideal climate for the hornet to establish a new home. Spichiger praised media outlets for bringing attention to the situation and the public for jumping into action, sending thousands of reports to a tip line.

“The fact of the matter is, if the entire community hadn’t stood up and taken action, there is a real good chance that we would just all be living with the northern giant hornet, even for years to come,” he said. “It is a very difficult task to eradicate an insect once it has become well-established.”

Even as the officials celebrated, the state was still investigating another reported hornet discovery about 100 miles away from the original nests. Officials did not believe the new hornet was connected to the previous introduction and had not found any other evidence of the hornet establishing itself, but they deployed traps to monitor the area, and plan to do so again in 2025.

“We won a very significant battle here, and we’re all so thrilled, but the fight will always continue, and we’ll always be vigilant,” Spichiger said. In one measure, pest managers have given specimens and training to port inspectors, who have been asked to watch for other hornets.

In Europe, researchers recently expressed alarm after discovering a related hornet, the southern giant hornet, in northern Spain.

The northern giant hornet, about 1.5 inches long, is of particular concern to entomologists because of the threat it poses to other insects, including bees. In Washington state, the “murder hornet” was suspected in a 2019 event when a beekeeper discovered one of his hives filled with bee carcasses, their heads torn from their bodies.

The hornet can also be dangerous for humans. Its stinger can penetrate a beekeeping suit, with stabs that one victim described as feeling “like having red-hot thumbtacks being driven into my flesh.” A swarm of stings can be fatal.

Government agencies and researchers continue to receive various reports of potential hornet sightings, in Washington state and elsewhere, but they have found that the reports are typically of other insects with a similar appearance, such as cicada killers, yellow jackets or sawflies.

The hornet is formally known as Vespa mandarinia. Experts previously described it as the “Asian giant hornet,” and some even less formally as a “murder hornet,” but the Entomological Society of America — responding to concerns about potential anti-Asian sentiment — moved to change the name to the northern giant hornet.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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