WASHINGTON — As this is Invasive Species Awareness Week, researchers with the Washington State Department of Agriculture laid out their plan to study the Asian giant hornet.
The giant hornet is one of the most feared invasive species.
A dedicated team of experts will head out this spring to track, study and remove giant hornet hives.
Scientists will work to find out why the giant hornets do something very unusual — mark a nest or a hive of insects such as honey bees with a scent and then send out a signal to other giant hornets that then return and kill thousands of the bees.
“They will come en masse and basically just kill stuff. This is different than their normal hunting, where they take that resource and return it to the hive, to their own nest and feed it to larvae. This time they’re just cutting the heads off bees or wasps, making sure that there’s no ability of that attacked hive or attacked next to defend themselves,” said Dr. Chris Looney of WSDA.
The giant hornets perform that action until the adult bees are depleted, which is a problem for the people who produce honey and for bees that pollinate state fruit crops.
WSDA is asking for help with tracking the giant hornets and says you can report a sighting or learn what a hornet’s nest looks like by downloading the Washington Invasives mobile app.
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