First live "murder hornet" of 2021 spotted in Washington state

The first sighting of a living "murder hornet" of 2021 was reported by a person in Washington state this week, the the state's Department of Agriculture said Thursday. It marks the second sighting this year of the insect but the first one found in June was dead.

The Asian giant hornet was reported by a Whatcom County resident on Wednesday. Entomologists confirmed the sighting Thursday. The resident's report included a photograph of the hornet attacking a paper wasp nest in a rural area east of the town of Blaine, about two miles from where state workers eradicated the first Asian giant hornet nest in the United States last October. When scientists destroyed that nest, they found about 500 live specimens, including nearly 200 queens that had the potential to start their own nests. Earlier this year, scientists in the U.S. and Canada announced new efforts to stop the spread of the species, which they call a "serious danger to our health and well-being."