WSDA Investigating First Northern Giant Hornet Report in Three Years

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is currently investigating a report of a possible northern giant hornet sighting in the Burley area near Port Orchard, Washington.

This invasive species is a known predator of honeybees. Northern giant hornet attacks and destroys honey bee hives, according to the WSDA. A few hornets can destroy a hive in a matter of hours. The hornets can enter a "slaughter phase" where they kill entire hives by decapitating the bees. The hornets then defend the hive as their own, taking the brood to feed their own young. They also attack other insects but are not known to destroy entire colonies of those insects. 

Their stinger is longer than that of a honey bee and their venom is more toxic, according to a WSDA report. 

​The WSDA received and verified two of the first-ever sightings in the U.S. of the Northern Giant Hornet near Blaine, Wash., in 2019. Canada had also discovered the hornets in two locations in British Columbia in the fall of 2019. 

In 2020 and 2021, both Washington and Canada have had new confirmed sightings of the hornets. As of the end of 2021, WSDA had located and eradicated four Northern giant hornet nests in Whatcom County. In 2022 and 2023, no hornets were detected.

Source: WSDA