||| FROM MY BELLINGHAM NOW.COM |||
A potential northern giant hornet sighting is being investigated in Washington.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) says that a sighting of the insect was reported south of Port Orchard in Kitsap County. Officials have received photos but need to examine the specimen in order to confirm it is a northern giant hornet.
The hornets, previously known as murder hornets or Asian giant hornets, were last seen in Whatcom County in 2021. No sightings have been reported anywhere in the state or in Canada within the past two years.
Anyone in the area is asked to report suspected sightings to the WSDA.
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Dreadful and devastating news for our pollinators. What are the plans to eradicate them? If they’re in one place, they’re in another. Count on it. I really want to hear the Plan and feel reassured but I don’t feel reassured.
These “invasive” giant hornets are simply availing themselves of a new territory and the opportunities therein. The honeybees that everyone loves are also an “invasive” species and one that the hornets apparently find delicious. Every species is an “invasive” species when it moves into a new environment, including H. sapiens. I strongly suspect that the mega-fauna of North America would gladly have voted to send humans back to where they came from if they’d had the chance!
Attempting to lock a living, breathing ecosystem into a rigid form that must never be allowed to evolve (change) is not only futile, it’s counter-productive. The insanity of the government shooting Barred owls to try and maintain Spotted owl populations is an example of this irrationality. Attempting to eradicate any living creature, even ‘scary’ giant hornets, seems more like a pathological desire for control than wise stewardship.
Ken Wood: it’s a bit fatalistic (and overly simplistic) to imply that because change is inherent to natural systems, nothing can or should be done to protect our native species. This particular invasive species is spreading due to trans-Pacific trade and at this point its numbers are so low that total control of its spread may be possible. It’s important to understand that when human activity is the driver of ecosystem disequilibrium, we should do everything possible to mitigate harm.