Over 200 queens found in Asian giant hornet nest

Over 500 Asian giant hornets were found in the east Blaine nest eradicated on October 24, state entomologists confirmed this week.

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists opened the nest at a Washington State University lab in Puyallup to find hundreds of hornets at various stages in their life cycle. Despite the number of hornets, entomologists think few, if any, queens made it out of the nest to form a new colony.

“If any queens had already left the nest, it was a few and very early,” said Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, in a November 10 press conference. “We’ll know a little bit more when we measure each cell and make a determination about what a queen cell looks like versus a worker cell. As far as we can tell, we got there just in time.”

The first Asian giant hornet nest found in the U.S. was considered to be small, measuring about 14 inches long and 8 to 9 inches wide, Spichiger said. He attributed the smaller nest to possibly an unhealthy gene pool or the tree’s size constraining the nest’s growth.

The hornets comprised 76 queens, all of which are expected to be new queens except for one; 112 workers, 85 of which were vacuumed during eradication; 190 larvae; 108 capped cells with pupae (the cycle of a hornet’s life when it’s between being larva and an adult) that would have become new queens; nine male hornets; and six unhatched eggs in the smallest comb. 

The nest was located at the edge of an east Blaine property in a tree that the hornets chewed into to accommodate six layers of combs. The combs contained about 776 cells, but Spichiger said this number is an estimate after some combs were damaged in the eradication.

Three queens were found at the landowner’s home in a water bucket following the eradication. One male hornet was trapped near the nest and another male was found nearby, according to a WSDA blog.

Between trapped hornets and the eradication, Spichiger said the state agency has captured 520 hornets this year. Not included in this count was a hornet found in Aldergrove, B.C. on November 7 and another in Abbotsford, B.C., on November 2. 

“Now that we have a better idea how to track and locate a nest, we can respond a little more efficiently moving forward,” Spichiger said. “If I told you we had 17 hits in 17 counties, I’d say the genie is out of the bottle but right now it’s just us and British Columbia so I’d say it’s a fairly contained event.”

Although the hornets are still in their ‘slaughter’ phase when they are known to attack honeybee hives for protein, Spichiger said the agency has not heard reports of decimated hives this year.

Whatcom County citizen trappers can keep their homemade traps up until Thanksgiving but should only report their findings if they find an Asian giant hornet, WSDA said.

To report Asian giant hornet sightings, visit bit.ly/34akL4H. People without internet can also call the hotline, 800/443-6684, but this will take longer for WSDA staff to respond due to a heavy call volume. Beekeepers with hives under attack are urged to call the emergency line, 360/902-1880. For more information, visit agr.wa.gov/hornets.