Biosecurity

Invasive giant hornets have been spotted in the US for the first time

Just when you thought 2020 could not get any worse, there are giant hornets with a venomous sting to add to the list of worries this year.
The insects known as the Asian giant hornets have been spotted in the United States for the first time, specifically in Washington state, scientists say. Beekeepers have reported piles of dead bees with their heads ripped off, an alarming sight in a country with a rapidly declining bee population.
At more than two inches long, they're the world's largest hornets with a sting that can kill humans if bitten multiple times, according to experts at the Washington State University. Researches have nicknamed them "murder hornets."
"They're like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face," Susan Cobey, a bee breeder at the Washington State University's department of entomology, said recently.