Experts: Asian Giant Hornets Currently Not A Concern For Pa.

Recent alarming news reports aside, Asian giant hornets – sometimes referred to, hyperbolically, as “murder hornets” – are not an immediate concern in the Northeast, nor are they likely to be for a long time, if ever, according to an entomologist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

But Michael Skvarla, assistant research professor of arthropod identification, says the stinging insect, recently discovered in the Pacific Northwest, might cause issues for beekeepers if the hornet, scientifically known as Vespa mandarinia, becomes established and widespread in North America.

“The ter...