A ‘Killer Hornet’ Nest found for the first time in the United States

Entomologists found Giant Asian hornets in a tree cavity in Washington state

Remember the “killer hornets”? The terrifyingly large Asian giant hornets that threaten to wipe out North America’s bee population ?

Entomologists with the Washington State Department of Agriculture have now located a nest of them, the first ever to be found in the U.S., the agency reported .

In true 2020 fashion, our last video accidentally had several minutes of black screen at the end. Here's what we meant to post of the #AsianGiantHornet nest found in a tree cavity in Whatcom County. pic.twitter.com/f1vO8qxmly

— WA St Dept of Agr (@WSDAgov) October 23, 2020

The nest was discovered in a tree cavity on a property in the town of Blaine, near the Canadian border.

This achievement closely follows another breakthrough: State entomologists had recently had luck catching hornets. This week, they were able to collect four live Asian giant hornets using a new type of trap, and they managed to connect radio trackers to three of them.

One of those tagged hornets led the staff to the nest.

The plan now? Destroy the nest. The agency says it intends to eradicate it on Saturday, removing the tree if necessary.