Washington state officials lost track of a “feisty” murder hornet in a failed effort to find and destroy a nest of the invasive pests.
The state department of agriculture tried to track the female Asian giant hornet after capturing her on Oct. 5 and keeping her alive with strawberry jam, which she appeared to enjoy, department entomologist Sven Spicher told the Associated Press.
Scientists tied a tracking device to her body and let her fly free two days later, releasing her onto an apple tree.
After the hornet flew through some blackberry bushes, officials lost track of her — though they believe the tracker was still attached at the time of its last signal.
“This one was a lot feistier,” Spicher said.
Eighteen hornets have been found in the state since they were first discovered near the US-Canadian border last year, according to the agriculture department.
This wasn’t the first time a hornet has slipped off the radar for Washington state officials.
Earlier this month, officials said they tried to glue a radio tag to another live hornet so they could follow it back to its nest — but the glue didn’t dry fast enough. The tag fell off, and the hornet was unable to fly.
The Asian giant hornet — which can grow to up to 2 inches in length and is considered the world’s largest — can deliver painful stings to humans.
However, they kill at most a few dozen people each year in Asia, and experts say the real number is likely much lower.
Hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the US kill 62 people on average each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The biggest threat posed by murder hornets is their ability to decimate entire honeybee hives, which they typically attack in spring, according to Spicher.
That period is known as the “slaughter phase,” he said.
With Post wires