Washington state officials destroy massive nest with hundreds of "murder hornets"

The Washington State Department of Agriculture announced Thursday it has eradicated the state's first nest of Asian giant hornets — commonly known as "murder hornets" — of 2021. The state has spent two years trying to limit the spread of the hornets, which can grow to more than two inches long and are known for decimating honeybee hives and delivering painful stings to humans. 

The nest was found in the base of a dead Alder tree in Whatcom County, a quarter mile from the Canadian border, officials said in a statement. The site was found about two miles from a nest that was destroyed last October, and close to where a resident reported the state's first live hornet sighting of the year on August 11.  Workers began the Wednesday eradication by "vacuuming 113 worker hornets from the nest," the statement said. The team then removed bark and decayed wood near the nest's entrance, before discovering the hornets had burrowed into the tree to make more room for the nest, which had nine layers of comb.