Asian Giant Hornet

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If you are interested in tracking information about the Asian Giant Hornet and other similar hornets and wasps, or would like to submit information about the Asian Giant Hornet or other wasps and hornets worldwide, please LIKE this page (http://www.facebook.com/AsianGiantHornet).

UPDATE: Evidence of Asian Giant Hornet was confirmed by officials with the Washington State Department of Agriculture in December 2019 and in 2020. Additional information for the ABOUT page coming soon. There are reports of the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) or the Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) spreading into Europe. European authorities are focusing on a confirmed issue of the invasive species Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina). There is some confusion because of the similar names -- Asian Hornet and Asian Giant Hornet, which are two different species. After an article published in The Cardinal -- Arlingtoncardinal.com, we have received numerous reports of sightings in various locations in the United States. No confirmed photo or video image evidence of an Asian Giant Hornet has been submitted in the United States; however, in August and September 2019 the British of Columbia Ministry of Agriculture confirmed a location of an Asian Giant Hornet nest with active Asian Giant Hornets in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The nest was destroyed in September 2019. The Ministry of Agriculture and beekeepers in the area are concerned about the source of the invasive species, especially since 30 to 40 Asian Giant Hornets can destroy tens of thousands of honeybees in their hives in a matter of a few hours (documented by video by National Geographic). Experts and concerned citizens suspect the Asian Giant Hornets arrived by shipping container on an ocean freighter. But here is an interesting thought -- a male and queen would probably have to be transported in close proximity to establish a nest in British Columbia. There are other possible scenarios, such as the malicious transportation of an entire nest, and dumping it in British Columbia

Photos submitted to Facebook.com/AsianGiantHornet have usually been photos of European Hornets, Cicada Killer Wasps or sawflies -- and even a queen Yellow Jacket Wasp (later confirmed by the British of Columbia Ministry of Agriculture).

I witnessed the sighting of what I thought was an Asian Giant Hornet in July 2012 in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. At the time I was by no means an expert in entomology. My initial reaction was to laugh at the large insect. It looked like a flying bathtub toy because of it's large size, and large orange "plastic" head appearance. I had never heard of any of these type of hornets before. I remember saying to myself outloud, "What the heck are you?" and literally laughing. When I walked closer to it, the hornet squared off to my position with a terrifying humming noise, and I decided not to mess with it. I've had a lot of experience with Carpenter Bees, Yellow Jackets, and Honeybees; but I had never seen one of these before, and immediately went inside and looked up a match on the Internet -- including Google image searches and Wikipedia. I learned the different characteristics of the Asian Giant Hornet, the European Hornet (some similarity), and the Killer Cicada Wasp (which looks quite different). Over the years I have learned there are many other species of hornets, but the European Hornet is the ONLY confirmed true hornet in the United States. It seems plausible that with O'Hare International Airport with its cargo area less than 10 miles away from where I live, and the occurrence of a warm winters preceding the sighting; that the Asian Giant Hornet could survive in the northwest suburbs of Chicago -- at least during the warm winter and hot summer from 2011 to 2012. Of course, chances would be slim that a queen would actually establish a nest, so a single Asian Giant Hornet would probably simply perish after a year. Many of the cargo aircraft at O'Hare are Boeing 747s from Asia. Since Cardinal News reported the sighting summer 2012, we have received numerous reports, from all over the United States and the world, of sightings of a huge hornet or hornets. There is concern, because the Asian Giant Hornet is the deadliest animal known in Japan, and is also called a "Sparrow Bee" because of its size. Again no photo evidence exists of an Asian Giant Hornet in the United States. On this page many people have submitted photos of European Hornets and Cicada Killers. We'll continue to post all types of photos with geographic information to help people understand these hornets and wasps. See the article ... http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/?p=54592

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