Instead, according to entomologist Patrick Porter, approximately 80 percent of the misidentifications are attributable to cicada killer wasps. None of the specimens submitted by Texans have been Asian giant hornets.
In Texas, where Governor Greg Abbot asked universities to assemble a task force to prepare against the possible spread of the Asian giant hornet, entomologists at Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension Service have been swamped with hundreds of possible murder hornet specimens. Sometimes also called "sand wasps," several species of cicada killer are found throughout the United States. The most common cause of the mistaken identifications are wasp species known as cicada killer wasps. It's unknown how the giant hornets made their way to North America.ĭespite having only been found in a single county, on the far northwest border with Canada, the arrival of the so-called "murder hornets" has prompted misidentified sightings around the country. Nicknamed "murder hornets," the species is the largest hornet in the world, and native to much of Asia. Seven Asian giant hornets have been found in the United States since 2019, all in Washington state. People have been mistaking a type of wasp common to much of the United States with the invasive Asian giant hornet, but there's a few easy ways to tell the two apart.
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