A new study has found that the “murder hornet”, or Asian Giant Hornet, which first appeared here last year, could invade all of Washington and Oregon if left unchecked, ravaging the local honeybee populations and threatening the crops that rely on the pollination.
Researchers at Washington State University found that the climate of southwest British Columbia, western Washington, western Oregon is perfect for the hornets and that they are capable of flying up to nearly 70 miles per year.
The insects could spread all across western Washington and Oregon within 20 years if they are not contained soon.
The study also found that the affectionately named murder hornet could also find suitable habitat throughout the East Coast of the U.S. and populous parts of Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America, if humans inadvertently transport it, which is absolutely something that would happen in 2020.
These predictions are scientific sleuthing,” said WSU entomologist Javier Illan said. “We’re making an educated guess on how fast and far these insects can move, their rate of success in establishing a nest, and offering different scenarios, from least bad to worst. No one has done this before for this species.
To date there have been a dozen sightings of murder hornets in Whatcom County where they may have spread late last year from southwestern British Columbia.
Originally native to forested parts of Asia, the hornet is a significant threat to honey bees, which have no natural defense against them. In late summer and fall hornet colonies attack beehives, destroying entire bee colonies to feed their brood and produce new queens.
They can grow up to two inches long and deploy a potent sting, which is more dangerous than that of local bees and wasps and can be fatal to humans.
The study found that the murder hornets are most likely to thrive in places with warm summers, mild winters and high rainfall.
Extreme heat is lethal to the insects, so their most suitable habitats are in regions with a maximum temperature of 102 degrees, which means they likely couldn’t survive in the more extreme climate of Eastern Washington.
“We know queens come out of their nest in the fall, mate, and fly – somewhere,” said state Department of Agriculture scientist Chris Looney. “But nobody knows how far they fly, or if they fly repeatedly. We don’t know if they set up nests in the spring near where they hibernated, or if they start flying again. These are some of the things that make predicting natural dispersal a challenge.”
The study also found that nature alone cannot predict where the hornet may end up, and that human activity plays a role in transporting invasive species around the globe.
“It’s easy for some species to get moved accidentally from one side of the country to the other, even if there’s a large swath of unacceptable habitat in between,” he said.
