The ‘murder hornets’ are back in the West.
This year’s first Asian giant hornet was found in Washington state’s Snohomish County on June 4, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
A resident found the dead hornet on June 4 near the city of Marysville and alerted officials by submitting a report online via the Hornet Watch Report Form. On June 8, entomologists confirmed it was a male hornet that “was very dried out.”
The Asian giant hornet does not usually attack people and pets unless it is threatened, but its painful sting can spit venom.