They’re back: Invasive giant hornet reported in Washington

SPOKANE — For the first time in three years, Washington state has announced it is investigating the possible sighting of a northern giant hornet, an invasive species known to kill honeybee hives.

The Washington state Department of Agriculture on Oct. 7 was sent a photo of what appeared to be a deceased northern giant hornet spotted in the wild in the region of Burley in Kitsap County. The state agency is asking the public to report any suspected sightings of the hornet online at agr.wa.gov/hornets or via email at pest@agr.wa.gov.

The specimen from the photo sent to the state agency appeared to be a “long dead” northern giant hornet, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Amber Betts said in a phone interview. She said the agency isn’t concerned at this time, because finding one lone dead specimen doesn’t indicate a growing population. The invasive hornets have been known to show up by way of luggage, cargo or shipped packages.

“But if they don’t survive, because they don’t have a home — they don’t have their colony and a family to keep producing — we’re not too concerned,” Betts said. “Because the photo does appear to be the northern giant hornet, we’re trying to get ahold of the specimen, get our eyes on it and test it. From there, we’ll see what we can see.”

Northern giant hornets are an invasive species, because they attack and destroy honey bee hives. It takes just hours for a few hornets to destroy a hive and kill its resident bees.

The invasive hornets do not typically pose danger to humans or their pets, although they have been known to attack when threatened or handled by humans. Their stinger is longer than that of a honeybee, and their stings are more painful than most other bees or wasps.

The state Department of Agriculture plans to collect the reported specimen and bring it into a lab for DNA tests. Specifically, the state agency is curious if the bee is related to a previous infestation in 2021.

In 2020 and 2021, both Washington and Canada confirmed new sightings of the hornets, then famously dubbed “murder hornets.” At the end of 2021, the state Department of Agriculture found and removed four giant hornet nests in Whatcom County.

Last week’s report was the first reported sighting of a giant hornet since then.

The Whatcom County nests and all other giant hornet sightings in the state have been found with help from the public, Betts said.

“We have been able to protect agriculture and our ecosystems because the public said ‘hey, here’s a picture or here’s what I saw,’” Betts said.