Murder hornet facts

After a week of hysteria and memes, it's good to read some actual facts about Murder Hor-sorry, Asian Giant Hornets. An important one would seem to be that they've never been spotted outside of Washington state and haven't been reported in 2020 at all. Whatever you're freaking out about in your back yard, it's probably not a Mur-an Asian Giant Hornet.

According to entomologists involved, however, there have been no verified reports of the species in 2020 and although monitoring efforts continue, there currently is no cause to believe that any of these hornets are still present in Canada or the U.S.

No verified sightings have been recorded of the species in the U.S. outside of Washington state. If you are in that region and think you have seen an Asian giant hornet, report it to the Washington State of Department of Agriculture here. If you are not in that region and think you've seen one, it is most likely a different species.

Photo: LiCheng Shi (CC BT 2.0)