Murder Hornets are here

jack · Oct 23, 2020

In Washington!

Lanzman · Oct 23, 2020

I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Paladin · Oct 23, 2020

Kill it! Kill it with fire!!

Tuckerfan · Oct 24, 2020

Will Power · Oct 29, 2020

The murder hornets are also up in Canada, having been seen in British Columbia. Both the U.S. & Canada need to form & organize special teams whose only job is finding & destroying murder hornet nests & murder hornets. Every time one is seen it should be followed & eradicated as soon as possible. Night time would be the best time to destroy the nests, as the murder hornets are daylight animals.

jack · Oct 29, 2020

Praying Mantises are cool

Lanzman · Oct 29, 2020

Braaaaains . . .

Paladin · Oct 30, 2020

jack said: ↑

Praying Mantises are cool

Click to expand...

Holy crap!

"How about I sting ya?"
"How about I grab you and eat your head?"

Forbin · Oct 31, 2020

RELEASE THE MANTIS ATTACK SQUADS!!

Tuckerfan · Oct 31, 2020

oldfella1962 · Oct 31, 2020

jack said: ↑

Praying Mantises are cool

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I cleaned up on that fight! The mantis was a +650 underdog and I bet the farm. I would have been happy with a split-decision victory, but the mantis really brought the fury!

Tuckerfan · Jun 17, 2021

They're baaaaaaaack (Maybe).

First Murder Hornet of 2021 Was Just Found in the U.S.

Scientists found their first dead murder hornet of 2021 in the U.S. Yeah, the ones with stings that feel “like having red-hot thumbtacks” stabbed into your skin and spit painful venom into humans’ eyes. Those ones. Not great news, perhaps, but don’t freak out too much yet.

This month, a resident of Marysville, Washington—just north of Seattle—notified state authorities that she found what appeared to be one of those awful creatures’ bodies. State and federal scientists examined it and the Washington Department of Agriculture confirmed that indeed, it was a male murder hornet’s corpse.

Something was different about this bug, though: It had different coloring than those found in the state last year, and tests showed its DNA didn’t match up with the specimens found in Washington and Canada last year. Its body was also very dried out.

That all leads officials to believe that it’s likely the corpse of a previous season’s model of murder hornet rather than signs of a fresh batch. They also noted that new male hornets don’t normally emerge until July at the earliest and that there’s no clear way for the hornet to have gotten into Marysville. Still, the federal officials plan to look around the region and provide support just to be safe.

“We will work with [Washington Department of Agriculture] to survey the area to verify whether a population exists in Snohomish County,” Osama El-Lissy, deputy administrator for the federal Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection and Quarantine program, said in a statement. “USDA will continue to provide technical expertise and monitor the situation in the state.”

The feds have also provided Washington with funding to find and kill the hornets, as well as to research populations’ genetics, just in case any more bodies—or worse yet, live hornets—are found.

The bugs, known more scientifically as Asian giant hornets, were found in Washington State last year that, marking the first time one of their breeding grounds was discovered in the U.S. These are the world’s largest hornets, and while they are a menace to human society, it’s Americans bees that are really at risk. Murder hornets are known for destroying honeybee hives—which are already under threat—and American bees have no natural defenses against these invasive pests. That could have huge implications for wild bees as well as ones used to help pollinate crops. Bees, of course, are already facing a variety of threats from pesticides and climate change, so the added pressure of being slaughtered by an invasive species is not a welcome development.

Officials said the discovery shows how important citizen science and reports can be to their operations.

“This new report continues to underscore how important public reporting is for all suspected invasive species, but especially Asian giant hornet,” Sven Spichiger, Washington Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, said in the release. “We’ll now be setting traps in the area and encouraging citizen scientists to trap in Snohomish and King counties. None of this would have happened without an alert resident taking the time to snap a photo and submit a report.”

So if you see what you think is a murder hornet, let someone know. It might not be worth worrying about too much, but it’s better to be safe than stung.
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Will Power · Jul 13, 2021

I want to know EXACTTLY how(?) & by whom(?) the murder hornets ended up in Washington state & British Columbia in the first place?

Will we ever find out WHO'S responsible for the murder hornets now being in North America?

The murder hornets are properly named as they kill 30-50 people a year in Japan.

How many people will the murder hornets kill a year in Washington state & British Columbia?

Tuckerfan · Aug 14, 2021

Yep. They're definitely back.

The Murder Hornets Are Back to Terrorize Us for Another Year

Humanity just can’t catch a break, and it looks like the honeybees in Washington state can’t, either.

In recent days, the Washington State Department of Agriculture has confirmed the first report of a live Asian giant hornet—also known as murder hornets for their tendency to, you know, murder honeybees, humans, and other insects—in the region for 2021. The murder hornet in question had set its bloodthirsty sights on a paper wasp nest and was spotted by a resident in a rural area east of the city of Blaine.

The state agriculture department will now proceed to set traps in area to try to catch a live murder hornet, tag it, and follow it back to its nest. Given that the sighting was about half a mile (0.80 kilometers) from the U.S. border with Canada, the British Colombia government is also setting traps.

“This hornet is exhibiting the same behavior we saw last year–attacking paper wasp nests,” Sven Spichiger, a managing entomologist for the state’s agriculture department, said in a news release. “If you have paper wasp nests on your property and live in the area, keep an eye on them and report any Asian giant hornets you see. Note the direction they fly off to as well.”

The area where the murder hornet was seen is about two miles (3.2 kilometers) from where the state agriculture department exterminated the first nest of murder hornets last October. That operation led to the demise of 98 worker hornets. The murder hornet identified this week is one of two in Washington state reported this year so far. However, the other report involved a dead murder hornet. No murder hornets have been seen in British Colombia yet.

Murder hornets, or vespa mandarinia, are the largest species of hornet in the world and can grow to be up to two inches (5.08 centimeters) long. When they enter their “slaughter phase,” they kill honeybees by decapitation. In fact, a few hornets can decimate a honeybee hive in just a couple of hours. Honeybees aren’t the only ones who should be careful, though.

The insects, which are native to northern India and East Asia, have a stinger larger than that of a honeybee’s and their venom is more toxic. While they do not typically attack humans, they will do so if they feel threatened or if you try to handle them. Stings can cripple or even kill humans. In Japan, murder hornets kill up to 50 people a year.

Murder hornets are an invasive species in the U.S. and were first found in Washington state in 2019. Since then, officials have been tracking and eliminating them to prevent them from becoming an established species, which the state says would have negative impacts on the environment, economy, and public health.
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Tuckerfan · Dec 4, 2025

These Frogs Don’t Just Survive Venomous Murder Hornets—They Devour Them

Tuckerfan · Aug 21, 2026

So, at my new job the other day, we spotted something that looked like a murder hornet. (Yeah, we handle a lot of stuff imported from Asia. Mostly wood products.) Yes, I reported it to the state Dept. of Agriculture, but given who's in charge of it, I'm not optimistic.

shootER · Aug 21, 2026

Tuckerfan said: ↑

So, at my new job the other day, we spotted something that looked like a murder hornet. (Yeah, we handle a lot of stuff imported from Asia. Mostly wood products.) Yes, I reported it to the state Dept. of Agriculture, but given who's in charge of it, I'm not optimistic.
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Was it maybe a cicada killer?

I've noticed some around our house this year. One had just killed a cicada. Until I looked it up, I had no idea such an insect existed.

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Murder Hornets are here

jack Slave To The Rhythm

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Paladin Overjoyed Man of Liberty

Tuckerfan BMF

Will Power If you only knew the irony of my name.

jack Slave To The Rhythm

Lanzman Vast, Cool and Unsympathetic Formerly Important

Paladin Overjoyed Man of Liberty

Forbin Do you feel fluffy, punk?

Tuckerfan BMF

oldfella1962 the only real finish line

Tuckerfan BMF

Will Power If you only knew the irony of my name.

Tuckerfan BMF

Tuckerfan BMF

Tuckerfan BMF

shootER Insubordinate...and churlish Administrator