NOTN- online speculation on Facebook about Murder hornets, also known as Asian giant hornets, in Juneau, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Officials are clearing things up.
While Asian giant hornets, often dubbed murder hornets, are a federal species of concern because of their threat to native pollinators, no positive reports have been confirmed in Alaska, said Tammy Davis, invasive species program coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Game.
“We would rather get 100 reports of something that ends up being native than miss one report of an invasive,” Davis said. “If you see something suspicious, report it.”
Davis says individuals may frequently confuse the invasive hornet with native insects such as the yellow-horned horntail. Though large and equipped with what looks like a stinger, the insect’s rear appendage is actually an ovipositor used to lay eggs in dead or dying trees.
“The commonly misidentified native species is a yellow-horned horntail, it has a long abdomen, they also have what is called an ovipositor, but it looks like it might be a stinger, and it’s used for laying eggs.” Said Davis
“They don’t sting, and they’re a natural part of our forest ecology, and they’re really important for recycling in the forest environment.
The female wasp uses that ovipositor, and she plunges that under the bark of dead and dying trees so that she can lay her eggs, so something that seems like a really scary Murder hornet turns into a really sweet Wasp that’s trying to help our forest.
Residents can report invasive species by calling the state hotline at 1-877-INVASIV or by filing a report online through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Reports are shared with state, federal, and local partners through the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership.
In addition to insects, state biologists are monitoring threats such as European green crabs, recently detected in Ketchikan with the University of Alaska Southeast “It was on the last day during our last survey that one of the professors found a tiny, little green crab, and then one of the students found another one.” said Davis in the next couple weeks, everybody was looking for green crab and finding them, and the map drastically changed.”
according to NOAA, The green crab is considered one of the most invasive species in the marine environment. It has few predators, aggressively hunts and eats its prey, destroys seagrass, and outcompetes local species for food and habitat.
“Information is power, and good information is even more powerful,” Davis said.
