The year 2020 is not one that beekeepers in Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia are likely to forget in a hurry. Since the spring, experts in both states have been gripped by fears of Vespa mandarinia, a hulking insect whose voracious appetite for honeybees and stealthy spread could pose a threat to the region’s vulnerable ecosystem.
While the eradication of an Asian giant hornet nest in Washington in October was a success, officials to the north in Canada have dealt with a number of setbacks in their own bid to eradicate the hornets.
