WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – A dead Asian giant hornet has been found in the Custer area.
The state Department of Agriculture says a person walking on a road found the dead hornet on Wednesday.
It was in the area of a suspected Asian giant hornet bee kill and where another specimen was found last year.
Department entomologist Sven Spichiger says they’re brutal honey bee killers who first coax them out of their hive, decapitate them and then take the body parts back to their nest to feed to their brood.
The hornets usually don’t target people unless their nests are disturbed, but they do pose a threat to those with bee sting allergies.
He says they’re still working to determine how well established the hornets are, and will work through the summer to track them and destroy any nests they find.
