(AP) Vacuumed from a nest in a tree, a canister of Asian giant hornets is displayed by Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Blaine, WA (AP) — Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.
The state Agriculture Department had spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops.
The nest found in the city of Blaine near the Canadian border is about the size of a basketball and contained an estimated 100 to 200 hornets, according to scientists who announced the find Friday.
(AP) Before sunrise, illuminated by red lamps, Washington State Department of Agriculture workers vacuum a nest of ‘murder hornets’ from a tree to protect native honeybees. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
