Scientists preparing for next Asian giant hornet season

Scientists in the U.S. and Canada are getting ready for another season of the Asian giant hornet in the Pacific Northwest.

The hornet became the focus of an international eradication efforts, and Washington, British Columbia and federal agencies are buckling up for another year of trapping the pest.

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The Washington State Department of Agriculture is focusing on outreach, reporting and public trapping in addition to trapping done by the agency. It will focus mostly on Whatcom County, where hornets were detected in 2019 and 2020.

In British Columbia, efforts remain largely unchanged, focusing on outreach and networking with bee keepers and encouraging the public to report any sightings.

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People reporting sightings of the hornet have been key.

Last year, half of the confirmed reports in Washington and all of the confirmed reports in British Columbia were from members of the public, a news release said.

Get more information about the effort to eradicate the Asian giant hornet here.

Cox Media Group