The first live “murder hornet” of 2021 has been spotted approximately one kilometre from the Canada-U.S. border, confirmed scientists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).
In a news release Thursday, entomologists said the Asian giant hornet was reported by a Whatcom County resident in Washington state on Wednesday.
The frighteningly large hornets measure up to five centimetres long, pack a sting like a red-hot thumbtack, and can slaughter a whole colony of honeybees in a day. The hornets threaten to devastate the already-fragile bee population in North America, which would result in wide-ranging damage to farms and ecosystems.
An image showing the hornet attacking a paper wasp nest was included with the report; the sighting was a mere three kilometres from where WSDA destroyed the first Asian giant hornet nest in the U.S. last year.
An Asian giant hornet attacks a paper wasp nest in August 2021.
Washington State Dept. of Agriculture
“This hornet is exhibiting the same behaviour we saw last year — attacking paper wasp nests,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist said. “If you have paper wasp nests on your property and live in the area, keep an eye on them and report any Asian giant hornets you see. Note the direction they fly off to as well.”
The organization said both U.S. and British Columbia officials will be setting up traps in the area to catch a live hornet, tag it and track it back to its nest.
In 2020, half of WSDA’s confirmed reports and all of Canada’s confirmed reports came from the public. So far this year, there have been no confirmed reports in B.C., nor have any been detected in traps.
The hornets are native to eastern Asia, but they were first spotted in North America in 2019, when a few of the massive, yellow-headed creatures were reported near Nanaimo, B.C. The first known nest in Canada was wiped out on Vancouver Island in the fall of 2019.
Each hornet has a big yellow head, two huge black eyes, a black body and a black-and-yellow striped abdomen. They can grow to be the size of a AA battery and have hardened shells that allow them to bull through a honeybee colony while shrugging off its defences.
The five-centimetre-long invasive insects are the world’s biggest hornets and prey on honeybees and other hornets.
0:51 Another Asian Giant hornet found in B.C.
Another Asian Giant hornet found in B.C – Nov 10, 2020
A handful of hornets can raid a honey beehive, decapitate thousands of its workers and snatch all of its young within a matter of hours.
Asian bees — unlike bees in North America — have learned to defend themselves by swarming over the hornets and vibrating their little bodies, which generates enough heat to effectively cook the much larger insects to death.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
