SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington State Department of Agriculture is moving forward with new rules that would give them more tools to combat the spread of invasive Asian giant hornets. The pests pose a threat to bees.
Throughout 2020, the agency tracked and trapped the hornets. Late in the year, they destroyed a nest in a tree in Blaine. About 200 queens were found.
Now, the department is proposing new rules that would empower them to limit the hornets’ spread. The agency seeks to impose a quarantine on all live hornets, which would outlaw the sale, distribution or knowing movement of hornets in Washington.