by Connie Oswald Stofko
“We do not have Asian giant hornets (also known as murder hornets) anywhere in Western New York,” said Sharon Bachman, Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Erie County.
We ran an article about murder hornets in October 2021. We didn’t have any in Western New York then and we still don’t have any.
I keep hearing from people who think they have spotted murder hornets–or even insist that what they encountered was a murder hornet.
It’s easy to understand that people are confused– there are many lookalikes in our area.
If you see a really, really big wasp (two inches long), it’s probably an eastern cicada killer. It looks scary, but it generally doesn’t sting humans.
Another lookalike is the European hornet. It’s only half the size of an Asian giant hornet, but when it’s flying around, it looks big.
Bachman said she was talking to a caller who thought she might have an Asian giant hornet. Bachman asked the caller if the bands on the insect looked like upside-down crowns, and they did. That identified the insect as a European hornet; Asian giant hornets have solid bands. See more on European hornets here.
See more information about murder hornet lookalikes here.
The only Asian giant hornets identified in the United States are in Washington State. They are believed to be confined to Whatcom County, which is on the Canadian border. Scientists are setting traps to eradicate the giant Asian hornets. See more in this May 25, 2022 article from OPB, an Oregon nonprofit corporation serving as a primary source of news, information and culture.
What to do if you think you saw a murder hornet in WNY
If you still worry that you may have spotted a murder hornet, don’t bother posting on Facebook or leaving a comment here; you won’t get the information you need. Instead, contact experts who can tell whether your specimen is an Asian giant hornet or a lookalike. You can email photos and location information to Plants@agriculture.ny.gov or contact Cornell Cooperative Extension in your county.
Hi Allyson, contact experts who can tell whether your specimen is an Asian giant hornet or a lookalike. You can email photos and location information to Plants@agriculture.ny.gov or contact Cornell Cooperative Extension in your county.
Come to our house. I am pretty sure we have them here a cluster of nests too. Hornell New York.
Hi Nick, you probably don’t need to spray. Eastern cicada killers are virtually no danger to humans; they’re only looking for cicadas.
If you have a European hornet nest, get a professional to spray; those are very aggressive. If you think you have murder hornets, please report it. You can read the entire article here for more information.
I’m also live in west seneca and have been killing these massive wasps hanging around the lights at night.
Hi Linda, I haven’t seen one myself, but from the photos I’ve seen, I can understand why they would be alarming! I hope this article helped.
I just seen a giant wasp two nights ago at night buzzing the porch light. Thank goodness I had another door to go in! Frightening sight! Also in West Seneca.
Thanks for the informative article! We’ve had so many calls at the Master Gardener Hotline about people seeing murder hornets. Now more people will know what they are seeing.