Asian Giant Hornets in Whatcom County

As if COVID-19! wasn’t scary enough, there is a new peril in our little corner of the universe and it has a face that could easily end up on the poster of a Hollywood horror movie.

Say hello to your new neighbor, the Asian Giant Hornet. Last November, beekeeper Ted McFall was checking hives in nearby Custer in Whatcom County, and came across thousands and thousands of dead bee carcasses. Inside the hive, McFall discovered thousands of headless bees.

McFall came to suspect Asian giant hornets, who use their giant spiked mandibles to destroy a honeybee hive. They decapitate their victims and fly...