BELLINGHAM — Scientists will set 1,200 traps for Asian giant hornets this summer as part of ongoing efforts to keep the invasive pests from becoming established in Whatcom County and the rest of Washington.
Whatcom County has been ground zero in the battle ever since the first of what also are popularly known as “murder hornets” was found in Blaine in December 2019 and the first nest was discovered southeast of Blaine and destroyed Oct. 24.
Those sightings represented the first of Asian giant hornets in Washington and the U.S.
The hornets are feared for the threat they pose to honeybees and, by extension, the valuable crops in Washington that the bees pollinate, including blueberry and other cane crops in the region that includes Whatcom County.
They also prey on local pollinators such as wasps, posing a threat to the local ecosystem, state entomologists have said.
So the state Department of Agriculture will continue to lead the fight against them.
Those efforts include putting up 1,200 traps in Whatcom County starting in July to catch Asian giant hornets, “in grids centered around previously confirmed detections,” said Karla Salp, spokesperson for the state Agriculture Department.
State scientists will trap for the hornets in Whatcom County only but are once more asking for the public’s help.
“We’re welcoming citizen scientist trappers again this year and revised instructions are available on our website, though it doesn’t start until July. We are emphasizing the same counties as last year, although anyone in Washington is welcome to set a trap,” Salp said.
Citizen scientists in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island counties, especially, are being encouraged to set traps “because of the proximity to confirmed sightings,” Salp said to The Bellingham Herald.
“Clallam and Jefferson are included because of some suspicious but unconfirmed reports we’ve had in the area there,” she added.
In 2020, more than 1,200 people hung up traps and serviced them, helping agriculture officials with their surveillance and trapping efforts, according to a previous Herald article.
The trapping season for Asian giant hornets starts in July and continues through November because that’s when there should be more worker hornets and they should be active, state officials said.
Trapping outside that window likely won’t yield an Asian giant hornet and people may catch and kill other local insects instead.
The state continues to ask residents to report all suspected sightings of Asian giant hornets, saying that half of the confirmed detections in 2020 came from the public.
Up to 2 inches long, the Asian giant hornet, or Vespa mandarinia, is the world’s largest hornet species. They are identifiable by their large yellow/orange heads.
Their native range is Asia.
The hornets are known for their painful stings.
They will attack people and pets when threatened. People should be extremely cautious near them, state agriculture officials have said, and those who have allergic reactions to bee or wasp stings should never approach an Asian giant hornet.
Report hornets
Washington state residents can report possible sightings of an Asian giant hornet to the state Department of Agriculture online at agr.wa.gov/hornets, via email at hornets@agr.wa.gov, or by calling 1-800-443-6684.
Take a photo or keep a specimen if you can. They’re needed for confirmation.
Citizen science trapping instructions also are on the website.
More on the department’s Asian giant hornet effort can be found at facebook.com/groups/hornets.
