Officials in Washington state have reason to believe the Asian giant hornet — often referred to as “murder hornet” — may have returned to British Columbia..The Washington State Department of Agriculture took to Twitter saying that an Asian Giant Hornet was discovered in a Japanese beetle trap, nearby where previous nests have been eradicated in Washington.. WSDA-1Washington State Department of Agriculture .The trap was set in South Surrey..“We will be working with BC and US federal authorities to attempt to obtain and analyze DNA from the specimen in an attempt to see if the specimen was indeed from a US nest,” writes the Department..The invasive species was first discovered in North America in 2019, and despite their nickname, the murder hornets are not considered a substantial threat to humans who are not allergic to bee and wasp stings..They do however pose a significant threat to the native honeybee population..The department said it will analyze DNA from the specimen in an attempt to determine if it was from a nest south of the border..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
