World's largest hornet renamed northern giant hornet
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Courtesy of the Wash. Dept. of Agriculture
A northern giant hornet found in east Blaine in 2020.
Scientists are now asking the public to refer to the world's largest hornets as "northern giant hornets," opposed to the previously dubbed names "Asian giant hornets" and "murder hornets." The name was changed in late July to avoid using a geographical region in the insect's title.
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) adopted "northern giant hornet" in its list of common names of insects and related organisms. ESA didn't have an official name for the hornets until now, according to a Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) press release.
WSDA entomologist Chris Looney urged for the name to be changed to follow ESA's naming guidelines on avoiding using geographic regions to name insects. The new name refers to the species originating from northern Asia, according to WSDA. ESA adopted the common name of Vespa soror, a similar species to the northern hornet, to become "southern giant hornet" in reference to its southern Asia origins.
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