"Murder hornets" may have left the public consciousness, but they never physically left North America.
As reported CNN, researchers from the Washington State Department of Agriculture recently located the first ever Asian giant hornet nest in the United States. Entomologists announced the news Friday, just a day after they discovered the nest on private property in Blaine.
The WSDA were able to detect the nest after collecting a total of four live Asian giant hornets between Oct. 21-22. Researchers then attached radio trackers to three of those insects, which led them to the nest at around 4 p.m. local time Thursday.
"The nest is inside the cavity of a tree located on private property near an area cleared for a residential home," a WSDA press release stated. "While Asian giant hornets normally nest in the ground, they are occasionally found nesting in dead trees. Dozens of the hornets were seen entering and exiting the tree while the WSDA team was present."
The owner of the property has reportedly given the agency permission to eradicate the nest and remove the tree, if necessary. The WSDA said its team plans to do so on Saturday.
Asian giant hornets, which were spotted in the U.S. for the first time earlier this year, can reportedly grow more than 2 inches long with a wingspan of about 3 inches. Though the insects primarily prey on beetles and honeybees, they've also killed dozens of people per year.
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