Attack of the Killer Hornets

On a rainy November morning  in 2019, beekeeper Ted McFall drove to check on a group of his beehives in northern Washington State. As he approached in his truck, McFall saw a mysterious dark shadow below one of the hives. He pulled up for a closer look—and his heart almost stopped.

Spread across the ground were thousands upon thousands of dead bees. Even more terrifying: Their heads had been sliced off their bodies. Looking inside the hive, McFall found it filled with even more bee bodies and chopped-off heads.

McFall couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened. Had someone come and murdered his beloved bees? Had they been attacked by bloodthirsty zombies?

Later McFall would learn the real identity of the killers: creatures so huge, so vicious, and so deadly that they were known by a chilling nickname.

Murder hornets.

It was a rainy November morning in 2019. Beekeeper Ted McFall drove to check on a group of his beehives in northern Washington State. As he approached, McFall saw a strange dark shadow below one of the hives. He pulled up for a closer look. And his heart almost stopped.

Thousands upon thousands of dead bees were spread across the ground. Even more terrifying? Their heads had been cut off their bodies. When he looked inside the hive, McFall found it filled with even more bee bodies and chopped-off heads. 

McFall couldn’t imagine what had happened. Had someone come and murdered his beloved bees? Had they been attacked by zombies?

Later McFall would learn the real identity of the killers. They were creatures so huge and so deadly that they were known by a disturbing nickname.

Murder hornets.

About a month after McFall’s gruesome discovery, insect scientists with the Washington State government received an urgent phone call. A local man had found an unusually large dead hornet on his porch. Would the scientists come take a look? 

As soon as the team laid eyes on the creature, they realized with a shock what it was. 

Big black eyes. Tiger stripes. A superlong, razor-sharp stinger. It looked like a hornet supervillain from a comic book. This was the world’s biggest wasp species: the northern giant hornet, also known as a murder hornet.

“My heart sank,” one of the scientists, Chris Looney, later said. 

Murder hornets had never been spotted in the U.S. before. They naturally live in Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. Looney and his colleagues had no idea how the hornet had gotten here—but they knew it was a big problem. They worried it could become an invasive species, a plant or animal that spreads in a new environment and harms species already living there.

About a month went by after McFall’s gruesome discovery. At that time, insect scientists with the Washington State government got an urgent phone call. A local man had found an unusually large dead hornet on his porch. Would the scientists come take a look?

The team saw the creature. And with a shock, they realized what it was.

Big black eyes. Tiger stripes. A superlong, razor-sharp stinger. It looked like a hornet supervillain from a comic book. This was the world’s biggest wasp species: the northern giant hornet. It’s also known as a murder hornet.

“My heart sank,” one of the scientists, Chris Looney, later said.

Murder hornets had never been seen in the U.S. before. They naturally live in Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. Looney and the other scientists had no idea how the hornet had gotten here. But they knew it was a big problem. They worried it could become an invasive species. That’s a plant or animal that spreads in a new environment and harms species already living there.

Before you start sweating, don’t worry: Murder hornets are rarely deadly to humans. Their main victims are honeybees.

In the late summer and fall, the hornets swarm honeybee hives. Using sharp, pincerlike parts of their mouths, they chop off the bees’ heads. Then they rip out their victims’ chests (yikes), munch them up (double yikes), and carry the nutrient-rich goo back to their own nests to feed their babies (awww?). In just hours, about 20 murder hornets can kill tens of thousands of bees . . . bees like Ted McFall’s.

That’s a problem not just for the bees, but for humans too. Honeybees play an important role in pollination: They carry pollen from plant to plant, helping new plants grow. About one-third of our food comes from plants pollinated by bees—everything from berries and avocados to almonds. 

In the hornets’ home countries in Asia, honeybees have developed an incredible way to fight back against these predators. They swarm around a hornet in a giant ball, vibrate to produce heat, and basically cook their enemy to death. 

But American honeybees do not have this natural defense strategy. And bees are already under threat from pollution, disease, and bug-killing chemicals. If murder hornets spread to other states, they could further devastate our honeybee populations. 

Looney and his colleagues knew they had to prevent that from happening. Or it could be a disaster for beekeepers, farmers, and all of us who enjoy the food that honeybees help to grow.

Before you start sweating, don’t worry. Murder hornets are rarely deadly to humans. Their main victims are honeybees.

In the late summer and fall, the hornets swarm honeybee hives. They use sharp parts of their mouths to chop off the bees’ heads. Then they rip out their victims’ chests (yikes) and munch them up (double yikes). After that, they carry the nutrient-rich goo back to their own nests to feed their babies (awww?).

In just hours, about 20 murder hornets can kill tens of thousands of bees. Bees like Ted McFall’s.

That’s a problem for the bees. And it’s a problem for humans too. Honeybees play an important role in pollination. They carry pollen from plant to plant, helping new plants grow. About one-third of our food comes from plants pollinated by bees—everything from berries and avocados to almonds.

In the hornets’ home countries in Asia, honeybees have an incredible way to fight back against these predators. They fly around a hornet in a giant ball, vibrate to create heat, and basically cook their enemy to death.

But American honeybees don’t have this natural way to defend themselves. And bees are already under threat from pollution, disease, and bug-killing chemicals. If murder hornets spread to other states, they could further harm our honeybees.

Looney and his colleagues knew they had to keep that from happening. Or it could be a disaster for beekeepers and farmers. It would also be a disaster for all of us who enjoy the food that honeybees help to grow.

Over the following weeks, the scientists sent out flyers warning the public about murder hornets and asking them to report any sightings. That’s how they connected with McFall and learned what had happened to his beehives.

Beekeepers like McFall and other people in Washington State teamed up with the scientists to help hunt the hornets. They set up more than 8,000 homemade traps—plastic jugs filled with a juice mixture to attract the insects. 

The goal was to catch a live hornet so the team could set it free and follow it back to its nest. Murder hornet nests are about the size of a basketball and can contain hundreds of adults and babies. If the scientists wanted to keep murder hornets from spreading across the U.S., they would have to find the insects’ nests and kill all the hornets inside. 

For months, Looney drove around from trap to trap. But he never found a murder hornet stuck inside. Finally, in late September 2020, a resident reported seeing jumbo-size hornets flying near his home. Looney went to look around, without any luck at first. 

Then just as he was about to leave, a live hornet flew by. Thinking quickly, Looney caught it in a net. 

“I called everybody and said, ‘We found one! Let’s try to track it,’ ” he says.

Over the following weeks, the scientists sent out flyers warning people about murder hornets. They asked them to report any sightings. That’s how they connected with McFall and learned what had happened to his bees.

Beekeepers like McFall and other people in Washington State teamed up with the scientists. Together, they helped hunt the hornets.

They set up more than 8,000 homemade traps, plastic jugs filled with a special juice to attract the insects.

The goal was to catch a live hornet. The team wanted to then set it free and follow it back to its nest. Murder hornet nests are about the size of a basketball. And they can contain hundreds of adults and babies. If the scientists wanted to keep murder hornets from spreading across the U.S., they would have to find the insects’ nests. Then they would have to kill all the hornets inside.

For months, Looney drove around from trap to trap. But he never found a murder hornet stuck inside. Finally, in late September 2020, someone living in the area reported seeing huge hornets flying near his home. Looney went to look around, without any luck at first.

Then just as he was about to leave, a live hornet flew by. Looney quickly caught it in a net.

“I called everybody and said, ‘We found one! Let’s try to track it,’ ” he says.

The scientists carefully superglued a tiny wireless tracker to the insect’s body. But the glue made its wings too sticky to fly. After managing to catch another hornet, they tried again, this time tying the tracker to the hornet with dental floss. The hornet flew off easily—but so quickly that it was soon too far away for tracking. The next hornet chewed through the dental floss, dropping the tracker.

By October, the scientists were beginning to lose hope. Still, they refused to give up. 

On their next try, Looney and another scientist chased a hornet into a thick forest. They thought they had lost track of it, when . . . buzzzzzzzzzzz. 

A murder hornet flew over their heads—straight into a hole in a nearby tree. Peering inside, the scientists finally saw it: the nest! “We were pumped,” Looney remembers.

The scientists carefully superglued a tiny wireless tracker to the insect’s body. But the glue made its wings too sticky to fly. After catching another hornet, they tried again. This time they tied the tracker to the hornet with dental floss. The hornet flew off easily. But it flew so quickly that it was soon too far away for tracking. The next hornet chewed through the dental floss, dropping the tracker.

By October, the scientists were starting to lose hope. Still, they refused to give up. On their next try, Looney and another scientist chased a hornet into a thick forest. They thought they had lost track of it, when . . . buzzzzzzzzzzz.

A murder hornet flew over their heads. And straight into a hole in a nearby tree. Looking inside, the scientists finally saw it. The nest! “We were pumped,” Looney remembers.

Two days later, the team of scientists returned to the nest. They were wearing what looked like spacesuits: thick, white outfits that covered them from head to toe—plus gloves, goggles, and face shields. These outfits protected them from being stung. (People have described murder hornet stings as feeling like burning-hot needles driving into your skin.)

The team carefully wrapped the nesting tree in plastic to seal it, then used a special vacuum to suck out all the hornets. Most were killed, but the scientists captured some alive to study in their lab. In the end, they found that the nest had been home to more than 500 hornets, including 184 potential queens—the members of the colony that lay eggs. If they hadn’t been found, some of those queens could have created their own nests in the spring. 

“We caught it right in the nick of time,” Looney says.

Two days later, the team of scientists returned to the nest. They were wearing what looked like spacesuits. Thick, white outfits covered them from head to toe. Plus, they wore gloves, goggles, and face shields. These outfits protected them from being stung. (People have said murder hornet stings feel like burning-hot needles poking into your skin.)

The team carefully wrapped the tree with the nest in plastic to seal it. Then they used a special vacuum to suck out all the hornets. Most were killed. But the scientists caught some alive to study in their lab. In the end, they found that the nest had been home to more than 500 hornets. This included 184 potential queens. Queens are the members of the colony that lay eggs. If they hadn’t been found, some of those queens could have created their own nests in the spring.

“We caught it right in the nick of time,” Looney says.

For the next year, Looney and his team continued trapping hornets and tracking them back to their nests. By the end of 2021, the scientists had destroyed three more nests in the same area of northern Washington. And while other U.S. states were on high alert, the team’s efforts prevented the hornets from spreading beyond the state.

A year passed without a hornet sighting anywhere in the country. Then another. Then another. Finally, in December 2024—five years after murder hornets were first spotted—it was announced that the insects had been successfully removed from the U.S.

Since scientists still don’t know exactly how the hornets got here, there is a chance they could return. Looney and the team are continuing to monitor traps. Meanwhile, beekeepers and others across the country are being asked to report any hornet sightings. 

But for now, the scientists are celebrating a rare victory against an invasive species—and a future filled with honeybees buzzing around. 

For the next year, Looney and his team continued trapping hornets and tracking them back to their nests. By the end of 2021, the scientists had destroyed three more nests in the same area of northern Washington. Other U.S. states were on high alert. But the team’s efforts kept the hornets from spreading beyond the state.

A year passed without a hornet sighting anywhere in the country. Then another. Then another. Finally, in December 2024, it was announced that the insects had been removed. (That was five years after murder hornets were first seen in the U.S.)

The scientists still don’t know exactly how the hornets got here. So there’s a chance they could return. Looney and the team continue to monitor traps. Meanwhile, people across the country are being asked to report any hornet they see.

But for now, the scientists are celebrating a rare victory against an invasive species—and a future filled with honeybees buzzing around!