An official website of the United States government.
Vespa mandarinia Smith, 1852 (Perrard et al. 2013)
Asian giant hornet (AGH)
Asia (APHIS 2020)
Was first detected in Washington State in 2019 (APHIS 2020)
Unknown (APHIS 2020)
Pest of honey bees that can cause the complete loss of colonies (APHIS 2020)
Spotlights
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $70 million to support 383 projects under the Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 program to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, threat mitigation, to safeguard the nursery production system and to respond to plant pest emergencies. Universities, states, federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, and Tribal organizations will carry out selected projects in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
The fiscal year 2021 project list includes 29 projects funded through the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN). The NCPN helps our country maintain the infrastructure necessary to ensure that pathogen-free, disease-free and pest-free certified planting materials for fruit trees, grapes, berries, citrus, hops, sweet potatoes, and roses are available to U.S. specialty crop producers. In FY 2021, funded projects include, among others:
- Asian giant hornet research and eradication efforts: $944,116 in Washington and other states;
- Exotic fruit fly survey and detection: $5,575,000 in Florida and California;
- Agriculture detector dog teams: $4,287,097 to programs in California, Florida, and nationally to support detector dog teams;
- Honey bee and pollinator health: $1,337,819 to protect honey bees, bumble bees and other important pollinators from harmful pests;
- Phytophthora ramorum (sudden oak death pathogen) and related species: $513,497 in 14 states and nationally for survey, diagnostics, mitigation, probability modeling, genetic analysis, and outreach;
USDA will use $14 million to rapidly respond to invasive pest emergencies should a pest of high economic consequence be found in the United States. Learn more about the Plant Protection Act, Section 7721 on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website.
Western Governor's Association.
This article highlights the role of data in responding to the Asian giant hornet and describes how officials at the Washington State Department of Agriculture employed 'citizen scientists' and ‘cooperators’ to locate and eradicate a nest of deadly Asian giant hornets in their state.
See also: Western Governors' Association Launches Invasive Species Data Mobilization Campaign (Dec 18, 2020)
USDA. APHIS. PPQ. CPHST. Identification Technology Program.
ITP is pleased to announce the release of North American Hornet Screening Tool. Hornets in the genus Vespa play a critical role as predators in their native habitats, but in North America these species may have a disastrous impact on agriculture by reducing populations of important pollinators such as the honey bee. Hornets also pose a serious health risk to humans because of their powerful sting. North American Hornet Screening Tool is designed for anyone who may encounter these species in the U.S., including the Asian giant hornet (AGH, V. mandarinia).
North American Hornet Screening Tool includes fact sheets and an interactive image gallery to support screening for Asian giant hornet and other potentially invasive hornet (Vespa) species. The interactive gallery can be used as a rudimentary key: by choosing one or more of the filters at the top, you can easily narrow down the images to only those that may match your specimen. A more in-depth version of this tool providing specialized information for identifiers on all exotic hornet (Vespa) species, will be released in 2022.
USDA. ARS. Tellus.
An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist in the Pacific Northwest has joined the hunt for the infamous Asian giant hornet (AGH) — a threat to honey bees in its native territory that could also endanger honey bees in the United States if it becomes established here. AGH is also a health concern for people with bee or wasp allergies. At roughly 2 inches in length, this invasive species from Southeast Asia is the world's largest hornet. It has distinctive markings: a large orange or yellow head and black-and-orange stripes across its body. While the hornet's sting delivers a potent venom that can cause severe reactions—and in some cases, death—in some people who are allergic to bee stings, attacks against humans are rare. AGH earned its bad reputation from the way it hunts down honey bees and other insects, primarily during the late summer months when it seeks protein to feed its young.
USDA. Blog.
After weeks of searching, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists–—using a radio tag provided by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and a trap developed by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service–— have located and eradicated the first Asian giant hornet (AGH) nest ever found in the United States. For months, WSDA had been trying to find the nest they knew must exist near Blaine, WA, because of AGH detections in the area. But finding the nest proved extremely challenging since the hornets build nests in forested areas, typically in an underground cavity.
Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Magazine.
The Asian giant hornet, seen for the first time in North America in 2019, is unlikely to murder you or U.S. bees, according to a Smithsonian entomologist.
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
The Asian Giant Hornet Public Dashboard shares detection and trapping data. Citizen scientists were able to view detections in real time, including the number of reported sightings and number of hornets confirmed by type. Coordinating this information provided input on future trapping and demonstrated the benefit of collaboration with citizen scientists. WSDA has indicated that citizen data sharing and bottle trapping efforts are crucial to protect Washington from this invasive species.
USDA. APHIS. Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. National Agricultural Pest Information System.
Images
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Videos
Google. YouTube; USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Asian Giant Hornet.
Council or Task Force
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
Partnership
USDA. APHIS. PPQ. CPHST. Identification Technology Program.
This tool is designed to help users differentiate between invasive hornets, specifically Asian giant hornet, and other common non-targets found in the U.S., including bees and wasps. Included are fact sheets and a filterable image gallery that can be used as a rudimentary key.
Federal Government
International Government
Government of British Columbia. Ministry of Agriculture.
Three Asian Hornets (Vespa mandarinia) were found in the Nanaimo area on Vancouver Island in mid-August. The identification has been confirmed by Canadian and international experts. This is the first time this insect has been found in British Columbia. Please report suspected Asian giant hornet sightings to the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Canada).
State and Local Government
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
See also: Hot Pest Topics for more resources
Academic
Oregon State University. Extension Service.
Clemson University Cooperative Extension. Home and Garden Information Center.
University of Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension.
Electronic Data Information Source Publication #EENHY-754
University of Idaho Extension.
North Carolina State University. Extension.
Learn about some of the common species of wasps, bees and other non-wasp species, such as hover flies and robber flies, that superficially resemble the Asian giant hornet.
Pennsylvania State University. Cooperative Extension.
Professional
Citations
APHIS. 2020. New Pest Response Guidelines: Vespa mandarinia (PDF | 1.15 MB). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine.
Perrard A., K.M. Pickett, C. Villemant, J. Kojima, and J. Carpenter. 2013. Phylogeny of hornets: a total evidence approach (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Vespinae, Vespa). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32:1-15.