Washington preparing for NEW murder hornet queens ‘snuggled in’ for Winter hibernation despite killing 200 this year

Fionnuala O'Leary

Published: 14:02, 5 Dec 2020
Updated: 14:17, 5 Dec 2020

EXPERTS in the US are preparing for the arrival of new murder hornet queens "snuggled in" for their Winter hibernation, despite killing 200 this year.

State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is taking down their traps after a – was vacuumed in Whatcom County back in October.

Officials are already preparing for Asian Murder Hornet queens to come back in the springCredit: AFP

The killer insects die off or hibernate during the colder snap Credit: Getty Images - Getty

A pest biologist and trapping supervisor from WSDA pours the waste from a trap designed to catch Asian Giant Hornets, also known as murder hornets, through a strainer on July 29Credit: Getty Images - Getty

Experts are seen here in protective suits wrapping a tree in plastic after working to eradicate a nest inside of Asian giant hornets last month in Blaine, SeattleCredit: AP:Associated Press

The giant wasps either die off or hibernate during the colder snap – and in the with radio trackers following their arrival here late last year.

WSDA spokeswoman Karla Salp told ."This time of year the workers and the drones that may have emerged from a nest would be dying and the new queens would be overwintering.

"This means the queens find a nice little hole in the ground and snuggle in for the winter."

The WSDA confirmed that this festive season would be spent preparing for the bugs' 2021 debut when come out of hibernation mode and them once more.

Entomologists at the department are now assessing the traps they're using and building upon its impressive citizen trapping program as they prepare for a spring resurgence.

Experts in protective suits and working in pre-dawn darkness illuminated with red lamps, vacuum a nest of Asian giant hornets from a tree on October 24Credit: AFP

Sven Spichiger, Washington State Department of Agriculture managing entomologist, smiles as he walks with a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed from the nest in Blaine, WACredit: AFP

An Asian giant hornet nest was found in Whatcom County, Washington, last monthCredit: AP:Associated Press

The insects also use their jaws to saw through protective clothingCredit: PA:Press Association

They're called murder hornets for good reason: experts fear the may pose a

The WSDA said a small group of them can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours while experts at Washington State University found that small stings can also kill humans with .

A former police chief Larry Crenshaw, 59, leaving him struggling to breathe as he hunted with a friend in October in Brookville.

"They were attacked by numerous hornets," Rush County Coroner Ron Jarman said. "Larry was stung over 40 times and shortly after began to have issues with shortness of breath and collapsed in the woods."