From USA Today
July 10, 2020
Hundreds of people in Washington State have reported suspected “murder hornet” sightings in the months since the insect was first spotted in the U.S., stirring panic in a nation already reeling from the coronavirus outbreak.
But only five of those reports were bona fide Asian giant hornets, the 2-inch-long invasive species that slaughters honeybees and can be deadly to humans, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
“Unfortunately, while their intentions are good, many people have killed and submitted many insects that are NOT Asian giant hornets,” entomologists Quin Baine and Chris Looney said in mid-June. “Not only are most of these insects not harmful, they play an important role in the environment.”