First 'Murder Hornet' Nest in U.S. Destroyed, Washington State Officials Say.

 

Helsel, Phil. First 'Murder Hornet' Nest in U.S. Destroyed, Washington State Officials Say. 27 Oct. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/first-murder-hornet-nest-u-s-destroyed-washington-state-officials-n1244867.

On October 22, scientists discovered the first live nest of Asian giant hornets, also known as murder hornets, in the United States. Though they commonly live in underground nests, these murder hornets were found in a tree in Blaine, Washington. Because there had already been reports of murder hornets in the area earlier in the year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture set up traps in hopes to catch these deadly creatures. Last week, entomologists attached radio trackers to three captured hornets, which inevitably led them to the nest through close observation. Once the nest was located, all measures were taken to dispose of the hive efficiently and effectively. The Washington State Department did this by gathering protective suits and created a complicated method to isolate the hive. Sven Spichiger, the managing entomologist for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, said, “we wanted to make sure that we took the nest out as quickly as we possibly could to avoid any queens escaping." To do this, the group of workers used foam to seal crevices in the hive, wrapped the whole tree in cellophane, and continued to use a vacuum hose to suck out the hornets. The remains were exposed to large amounts of carbon dioxide to kill any living creatures, allowing a further examination of the tree and the specifics of the hive. In a broader lens, the eradication of all giant hornets could take years. But to speed up the process, the collected specimens will be used in research, including the observation of live nests to determine what attracts the hornets. The other specimens will be flash-frozen and sent to other researchers and universities for studying.

Murder hornets are extremely dangerous to the honeybee population. In fact, these giant hornets can kill an entire colony of honeybees in a matter of hours. Therefore, an increased population of murder hornets puts the population of honeybees at major risks, which would change the functionality of the surrounding environment. Honeybees pollinate plants, which helps them grow, breed, and produce food. Without honeybees, the other animals in the ecosystem would suffer because of the effects on plants. This is the primary reason behind the urgency of the entomologists’ removal of the hornets. If not contained, the hornets will reproduce and eventually spread, putting ecosystems at risk around the country. 

This article was short but mentioned all of the necessary information about the procedures for getting rid of the murder hornets. The in-depth description of the radical removal process emphasized its importance. The author also did a great job of mentioning how serious these murder hornets could be to the honeybee population in the United States. However, it would have been beneficial for the author to talk about the detailed aspects of the hornets, specifically through quantitative data and analysis. The author could have found more information about how many hornets there were, how large the hive was, and what the specialized scientists believe is the next step for the area. This would have added to the implications of the hornets’ presence in the United States, making the article’s relevance more significant to the reader. 

Posted for A. Wetty