Scientists Remove 98 ‘Murder Hornets’ in Washington State

A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours.

  • Published 26 October 2020
Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, walks with a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from a nest in a tree behind him Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in Blaine, Wash. Scientists in Washington state discovered the first nest earlier in the week of so-called murder hornets in the United States and worked to wipe it out Saturday morning to protect native honeybees. Workers with the state Agriculture Department spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Image via AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

This article was republished here with permission from The Associated Press, however it is no longer available to read on Snopes.com.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Scientists removed 98 so-called murder hornets from a nest discovered near the Canadian border in Washington state over the weekend, including 13 that were captured live in a net, the state Department of Agriculture said Monday. The other 85 Asian giant hornets were vacuumed into a special container when the first nest discovered on U.S. soil was eradicated on Saturday, the agency said. “The eradication went very smoothly,” managing entomologist Sven…

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