Third Asian giant hornet nest found in east Blaine

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) located a third Asian giant hornet nest in east Blaine Thursday evening, a WSDA spokesperson confirmed to The Northern Light. State entomologists found the third nest found in the U.S. in an alder tree, just two weeks after a nest was eradicated August 25.

On the morning of September 8, an east Blaine resident captured a hornet on his property that scientists tracked with a radio tag that led them to the nest around 5 p.m. September 9, WSDA spokesperson Amber Betts said. The first hornet caught in a WSDA bottle trap this year was found on September 8 in the same area, and a third hornet was also detected in east Blaine Wednesday, Betts said.

The third nest comes after two hornet nests were eradicated in east Blaine in August 2021 and October 2020.

“One nest down but the work continues,” a WSDA spokesperson wrote in a September 8 tweet, referencing the nest found in August. “Your reports do make a difference.”

WSDA public engagement specialist Karla Salp previously told The Northern Light the state agency expected to see lingering hornets for a few weeks after they eradicated the hornet nest August 25, but would be concerned if hornet detections continued longer than that. 

In mid-August, east Blaine residents submitted a photograph to WSDA of an Asian giant hornet eating a paper wasp nest on their property. State entomologists followed a hornet with an attached radio tag and located the nest August 19, before nearly a week later eradicating the nest that contained 1,500 hornets in different life stages. 

East Blaine residents reported several confirmed hornet detections in the weeks following the nest eradication in 2020.

The invasive hornets measure up to 2 inches and can be identified by its orange-and-black body and almond-shaped eyes. Originally from Asia, the hornet was first detected in the U.S. in fall 2019.

To report a suspected Asian giant hornet detection, visit agr.wa.gov/hornets, email hornets@agr.wa.gov or call 800/443-6684.