On September 18, 2019, a Northern Giant Hornet (formerly Asian Giant Hornet) (Vespa mandarinia) nest was found and destroyed in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was the first nest as well as the first confirmed report of this non-native enemy of our European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) being found in North America.
In December 2019, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) confirmed that a dead hornet collected by a resident in Blaine, WA, was the non-native giant. Blaine is on the U.S.–Canadian border almost directly across the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo, B.C. It was the first confirmation of a northern giant hornet being found in the U.S.
This past Wednesday, December 18, the WSDA in partnership with the USDA announced that after three years without any confirmed detections, the northern giant hornet is officially declared to be eradicated from the U.S. You can read the press release by clicking on this link: https://go.osu.edu/gianthornetus
Although the Province of British Columbia has made no official announcement, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) article titled, “Province says B.C. free of 'murder hornets' after U.S. announces eradication of invasive pest,” was posted on Thursday. You can read the article by clicking on this link: https://go.osu.edu/gianthornetbc
The WSDA/USDA official announcement is a great Christmas gift to beekeepers throughout the U.S. Of course, the closely related Yellow-Legged Hornet (V. velutina) continues to be a concern. You can learn about the discovery and current status of this non-native in Savanah, GA., and near Hilton Head Island, SC. By clicking on the following links:
https://go.osu.edu/yellowleggedusda
https://go.osu.edu/yellowleggedga
https://go.osu.edu/yellowleggedsc
