‘Murder Hornet’ has been eradicated from the U.S., officials say

The hunt for the “murder hornet” in the northwest corner of Washington State began like a criminal investigation, with bee carcasses creating a crime scene and the public being asked to send tips about the potential culprit’s whereabouts.

Search grids were created. Traps were set. Soon, state entomologists were able to capture some of the wayward hornets, affixing tiny tracking devices on the insects to trace them back to their lairs. Crews wearing otherworldly protective equipment moved in to eliminate the nests.

Officials believe it all worked. On Wednesday, five years after the invasive hornets were sighted for the first time in Washington State, state and federal agencies announced that they had successfully eradicated the species from that hot spot and the nation. That dispelled their initial fears that the hornet might spread rapidly enough to establish itself in the United States for good.

“We are proud of this landmark victory in the fight against invasive species,” said Mark Davidson, deputy administrator at the U.S.D.A.’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

In total, Washington State officials found four nests related to the introduction of the hornet in Whatcom County, an area along the Canadian border where farmers cultivate millions of pounds of raspberries and blueberries each year. The state has now gone three years without any new hornet discoveries in that region.

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