State eradicates another Asian giant hornet nest in Blaine

Workers with the Washington State Department of Agriculture and state Department of Natural Resources have eradicated another Asian giant hornet nest just east of Blaine.

State officials said on Thursday DNR Baker District Trail Steward Dan DeVoe felled a tree that contained the nest, split it open and eradicated the nest. 

Ten combs were found on the tree. 

Officials said the queen they discovered was a slightly different color and that all the hornets were workers, which means no new nests would be created from it.

Late last week, the department posted that it had a "concerning" report about another possible Asian giant hornet sighting about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of where the other nests had been discovered.

RELATED: 2nd Asian giant hornet nest of 2021 eradicated in Whatcom County, 3rd found nearby

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Another Asian giant hornet was eradicated near Blaine. (Credit: Washington State Department of Natural Resources)

From: Q13 FOX

"All workers - no males or virgin queens. The queen that started the nest had interesting coloring," the WSDA said in a Facebook post.

DNR officials said the nest was found where others have been found. 

A dead Asian giant hornet was also discovered closer to Seattle near Marysville in mid-June. Entomologists from the state and U.S. Agriculture departments said it appeared to be unrelated to the findings of the hornets in Canada and near Blaine, Washington.

The 2-inch-long (5-centimeter-long) invasive insects, first found near the U.S.-Canadian border in December 2019, are native to Asia and pose a threat to honeybees and native hornet species. While not particularly aggressive toward humans, their sting is extremely painful and repeated stings, though rare, can kill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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