Nearly 200 Queens Found In Destroyed Murder Hornet Nest

When scientists destroyed the first murder hornet nest discovered in the United States, they found over 500 specimens living inside, including nearly 200 queens. The scientists removed the nest just in time because each of those queens was capable of starting a large nest of their own.

"It really seems like we got there just in the nick of time as our original vacuum extraction seemed to only give us workers," entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger said. "We only got queens four days later after we cracked it open, and so if any queens had already left the nest, it was just a few."

Scientists uncovered the nest, which was the size of a basketball and hidden in a tree, by attaching radio trackers to murder hornets using dental floss.

Once scientists removed the nest and opened it up, they found 190 total larvae that developed from eggs, and 108 pupae, which were mostly queens. They also found 112 workers, nine drones, and 76 new queens, which were preparing to mate and start their own colonies.

"New queens emerge from the nest, mate, and then leave to find a place to overwinter and start a new colony the next year," state officials said.

Authorities believe there are at least two other nests in the area and are continuing the track the worker hornets, hoping they will lead scientists to the other hives.

"We know from the literature that a small percentage of these will go on to form colonies next year, should they have been given the chance to escape," Spichiger said.

Murder hornets, which are nearly two inches long, prey on honeybees, which are integral to pollinating flowers and crops. The invasive species is not native to the United States, and officials do not know how they ended up in Washington State. The hornets have also been spotted in Canada, and officials in both countries are working together to locate and eradicate the insects.

Photo: Getty Images