# First Live ‘Murder Hornet’ of 2021 Sighted in Washington
![Credit: Unsplash](https://www.schtic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/hornet.jpg)
2020 had its fair share of unfortunate events, and one of them was the discovery of “murder hornets” in Washington state. These hornets, scientifically known as the Asian giant hornet, are native to Asian countries and are infamous for their aggressive behavior and potential threat to local ecosystems in the US. Their sting is extremely painful to humans, and they have a reputation for attacking and destroying honeybee colonies, which could further harm the already declining honeybee population. Fortunately, no live murder hornets had been seen this year until recently.
A resident of Whatcom County reported a sighting of a large hornet attacking a paper wasp nest on their property. Entomologists from the Washington state Department of Agriculture confirmed that it was indeed a live murder hornet. This incident took place close to where a murder hornet nest was eradicated back in October.
State entomologist Sven Spichiger stated, “This hornet is showing the same aggressive behavior as we observed last year – attacking paper wasp nests. If you have paper wasp nests in your vicinity, be vigilant and report any Asian giant hornet sightings, noting the direction they fly off to.”
This year, this is the second reported sighting of a murder hornet, with the first one being a dead specimen found in Marysville. The Department of Agriculture workers are actively placing traps near the location of the live hornet sighting to locate any potential new nests.
[Source: CBS This Morning](https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1426132323133755395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)