Jun 20, 2021
Entomologists confirm new Asian giant hornet detection in Washington state

Entomologists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the USDA have confirmed the first report of an Asian giant hornet for 2021.

This is the first confirmed report from Snohomish County and appears to be unrelated to the 2019/2020 Asian giant hornet introductions in Canada and Whatcom County.

A resident found a deceased hornet near Marysville and submitted the report the evening of Friday, June 4 on WSDA’s online Hornet Watch Report Form.

Entomologists contacted them on Monday, June 7. When WSDA retrieved the hornet on June 8, the specimen was very dried out and they observed that it was a male hornet.

Being the first detection in Snohomish County and having different coloring than previously collected specimens in North America, the hornet was submitted to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) for final verification.

On June 11, the Washington State Department of Agriculture and USDA APHIS entomologists confirmed that the collected specimen was Vespa mandarinia – also known as the Asian giant hornet. WSDA DNA testing and the color variation of the specimen indicate that the specimen appears to be unrelated to the Whatcom County or Canadian Asian giant hornet introductions.

Given the time of year, that it was a male, and that the specimen was exceptionally dry, entomologists believe that the specimen is an old hornet from a previous season that wasn’t discovered until now. New males usually don’t emerge until at least July. There is no obvious pathway for how the hornet got to Marysville.

View the press conference held on June 16 on WSDA’s YouTube channel




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