Dead 'murder hornet' found in Marysville, a first for county
MARYSVILLE — At least one so-called “murder hornet” made its way to Snohomish County.
A resident reported finding the dead Asian giant hornet on a lawn near Marysville on June 4, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
It’s the first one spotted this year, and this far south.
It could also be from last season.
Entomologists retrieved the hornet on June 8. It was a “dry, crispy” male and had different coloring than other specimens, said Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist for the state Department of Agriculture. Like its counterparts, this one had the same signature large orange-yellow head, with its terrifying mandibles. But it didn’t have the same yellow stripes on its abdomen.
Genetic testing showed the hornet was unrelated to those sighted in Whatcom County and British Columbia in 2019 and 2020, Spichiger said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
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