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Asian Giant Hornet Resources
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Search HelpUniversity of Idaho Extension.
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.
USDA. APHIS. PPQ. CPHST. Identification Technology Program.
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.
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Asian giant hornet is the world's largest species of hornet. In December 2019, WSDA received and verified four reports of Asian giant hornet near Blaine and Bellingham. These are the first-ever sighting in the U.S. Canada had also discovered Asian giant hornet in two locations in British Columbia in the fall of 2019. If it becomes established, this hornet will have serious negative impacts on the environment, economy, and public health of Washington State. If you think you may have spotted an Asian giant hornet, report it to WSDA's Pest Program and, if possible, include a photo.
See also: Learn more about Asian giant hornets and WSDA’s program to eradicate them.
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.
USDA. APHIS. Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey. National Agricultural Pest Information System.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
See also: Hot Pest Topics for more resources
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Canada).
Asian giant hornet is native to Asia and was first detected in Washington State in 2019. It possibly was introduced through the illegal importation of live specimens for food and medicinal purposes. This hornet is a pest of honey bees that can cause the complete loss of colonies.
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Entomologists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (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.
In 2020, half of the confirmed Asian giant hornet sightings in Washington and all of the confirmed sightings in Canada came from the public. Every suspected sighting in Washington State should be reported to the Washington State Department of Agriculture online at agr.wa.gov/hornets, by emailing hornets@agr.wa.gov, or calling 1-800-443-6684. Suspected sightings in other areas should be reported to the state or province where it suspected hornet was observed.
Washington State Department of Agriculture.
On May 29, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported the first confirmed sighting of an Asian giant hornet in Washington this year. On May 27, a resident near Custer, Wash. found the dead specimen while walking on a roadway. The resident submitted a photo and report using WSDA's online Hornet Watch Report Form. On May 28, WSDA entomologists concluded that the photo appeared to show an Asian giant hornet. The hornet was detected near the location of a suspected Asian giant hornet bee kill in 2019. WSDA had already planned trapping in the area and will maintain that plan to try to find any colony that may be there. The first find of the year in the United States comes just days after the British Columbian government confirmed their first detection of the year in Canada near Langley, B.C. That specimen was initially reported to authorities on May 15. Asian giant hornet is the world's largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours. Visit agr.wa.gov/hornets to learn more about Asian giant hornets and the state's trapping and eradication project.
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.
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.