The first known nest of Asian giant hornets (alternatively, muder hornets) in Blaine, Washington was about to enter its “slaughter phase,” which could have killed the area’s honeybees, vital for raspberries, blueberries and other crops, if officials hadn’t removed it in October.

When hornets enter their “slaughter phase,” they kill bees by decapitating them, and then defend the attacked hive as their own, using the brood to feed their young. 

Entomologists from the Washington State Department of Agriculture attached radio trackers to three hornets, leading to the discovery of the nest, which was eight feet high in the tree with 6 combs -- structures holding hornet larvae as they develop -- and about 776 cells to hold the developing hornets.

“A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours,” according to WSDA.

The nest was eradicated through vacuuming the hornets and splitting the tree just at the “nick” of time, according to a news conference with Sven-Erik Spichiger, managing entomologist at WSDA. 

In total, more than 500 hornet specimens in various life stages were collected, including 112 workers, nine male hornets and 76 queens of which most were likely virgins except for one. The nest could have held about 200 queens, considering the different life stages.

Three queens were found and captured in a bucket of water afterwards, and it’s unclear if additional ones might have escaped. If any did, they may not survive if they didn’t receive sufficient nutrition from the nest.

“But if one was properly fed and had mated with a male, she could theoretically go off and pick a protected area to be insulated through the winter, helping to form new colonies in the spring,” the New York Times reports.

The first confirmed Asian giant hornet in Washington was detected in December 2019. WSDA will continue to trap nests for at least three more years in efforts to eradicate Asian giant hornets from the Pacific Northwest.