Current Events > 7th murder hornet has been caught in Washington state. This is the first male.

(+) Yeah! (+)

The murder-hornet-hunting heroes at the Washington State Department of Agriculture have successfully trapped a male specimenthe first of its kind found stateside.

The capture was a bit of a shock, as the WSDA didnt expect to see any male Asian giant hornets (the murder hornets only slightly less scary scientific name) for at least a few more weeks. The males of the species are typically still hibernating around this time of year, only emerging in late summer and early fall to hunt for food to sustain the next years queen.

Scientists are still trying to figure out how murder hornets, which are native to eastern and southeast Asia, got to North America in the first place, with the prevailing theory being that they may have stowed away on ships or cargo planes. Sightings of dead specimens first began cropping up in 2019 throughout northwestern Washington State and Canada, and additional sightings since suggest that the species is dispersed over a wider area than experts originally thought.

The WSDAs next step is trapping a live hornet, tagging it, and tracking it back to its nest to exterminate the entire colony, ideally before their life cycle starts anew in late September and this invasive species spreads even further.