Free Republic

Murder hornets may have been eradicated from the United States as Washington recorded no sightings so far this year. Called Northern giant hornets, or Asian giant hornets, the insects are the largest species of hornet in the world. They are native to Asia, and an invasive species in the U.S. that poses a great risk to the native ecosystem. Scientists are not sure how the species entered the country, though some suspect they may have come from an illegal importation. The WSDA recorded new sightings of the insect over the next two years. But this year in Washington, there have...

A species of Asian "murder hornets" has appeared in the U.S. as researchers search for ways to eradicate the vicious insects before populations grow. The hornets were discovered near Custer, Wash., last November when beekeeper Ted McFall found carcasses of his bees with decapitated heads, according to an interview with The New York Times. McFall told the Times that he could not imagine what could have killed his bees, later discovering that it was the result of a murder hornet attack. The Asian hornets are reportedly enormous, with queens growing as long as two inches.