If Absolutely Nothing Else, We Just Wiped Out The "Murder Hornets"
Look, in the last days of 2024, you take what you can get.
I’m tired. You’re probably tired. The kids are about to get off of school for two weeks, and many of us are at the top of a holiday roller coaster that will be magical and happy and yet also completely, utterly exhausting.
Various parts of the world are on fire. The political situation is on fire. The planet keeps getting hotter, like it is on fire.
And personally, the final edits on my book are due, which surely does not stand up against the worries of the world, but for me, right now, it feels like every nerve in my body is connected to a hot coal.
But hey, at least we eradicated the murder hornets, right?
Officially known as the northern giant hornet — the name “Murder Hornet” is some grade-A branding, but not really fair to the hornets — these insects first appeared in the Pacific Northwest in 2019. (They are native to Asia.) And because they can grow to be around two inches in length, pack a powerful sting, and have a penchant for decimating honeybee hives, people everywhere were understandably concerned that they would take over the continent.
But thanks to an international and inter-agency effort that was truly legendary and included both trapping hornets as well as following living hornets back to their nests, officials have announced that the Great Murder Hornet Threat has officially passed — for now.
That is to say, it seems like the northern giant hornet was accidentally introduced to the PNW on at least two separate occasions, so it’s altogether possible that such a thing could happen again. But for now, experts are saying we should take the win. Because eradicating a non-native species is very, very difficult to do. Especially when you’re talking about the largest hornet species on Earth.
By the way, if you’re wondering how we could possibly know if an insect is gone for good, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service considers a non-native species eradicated after three years have passed since it’s last confirmed sighting.
Not only is this good news for native species because it means they won’t have giant hornets coming at them, but it will hopefully also mean that the American public chills the eff out on thinking everything they see is a murder hornet. I can’t tell you how many photos folks have sent me asking if the blurry insect they just smashed is the internet-famous invasive species. And to be fair, lots of things do kind of look like northern giant hornets.
Though experts tell me the public is really pretty bad at making this identification. Like, folks are sending in pictures of grasshoppers asking if they’re murder hornets.
Anyway, if you’d like to read more about all of this, check out my story over at National Geographic!
What Else Have I Been Up To?
Like I mentioned above, I’ve been feverishly trying to tidy up the book manuscript, which is due just after the New Year.
As a reminder, I’m writing a book for National Geographic that features 50 North American critters, from bison and deer and salmon to fireflies and jellyfish, and it’ll be published in the spring of 2026. It’s been a long journey, but in the end, I’m trying to create a new kind of wildlife book that fundamentally changes the way we look at the animals all around us. Which is a tall-ass order, if I’m being honest. But I’m nearly at the finish line. And I cannot wait to tell you more about it!
My fourth science-y kids book, MOUNTAIN, debuted this fall, and I’ve been busy talking to libraries, classrooms, and entire schools about that. (I’ll be adding a ‘booking’ page to my website soon, in case anyone out there is looking to plan some science/nature/writing/reading content for their school or organization in 2025.)
Oh yeah, and I’m still writing like the dickens.
This month, you can find me over at Science News writing about “embodied emotions”, or how the ancient Mesopotamians associated emotions with very similar parts of the body to our own. Feel love in your heart? Anxiety in your gut? Well, weirdly, so did people who lived 3,000 years ago. Read more about all of that here!
Over at National Geographic, I got to talk about the best wildlife photos of the year, which is obviously a dream assignment. It’s pretty tough to choose just one, but I’m going to try. Check out this absolutely bonkers shot of a rattlesnake in the moonlight by Javier Aznar. Seriously, gives me chills. (In a good way.)
By the way, if Javier’s name is familiar to you, it may be from this equally bonkers photo-essay on spiders I got to write for National Geographic Magazine back in 2023.
And speaking of amazing photos, in the forthcoming January issue of National Geographic Magazine, there will be a spread about sea stars with some really fun shots by Joel Sartore as part of his Photo Ark project. Words by yours truly. (There’s also an online version here!)
Oh, and here’s another fun one. Earlier in the month I got to write about how an orca in Puget Sound was spotted with a salmon on its head. Which apparently was a thing orcas used to do back in 1987. The so-called “salmon hat” fad was a thing that spread through all the local killer whales — everyone was doing it! — and then it just faded away, like snap-bracelets or pogs. That is, until the behavior was spotted again this October. Not all of the experts are convinced the fad is truly back though. You can read more about all of this over at National Geographic!
Just a few weeks before salmon hats, I got to do yet another story on absolutely game-changing orca science for the New York Times. It seems the “pandas of the sea” are now killing the world’s largest fish—whale sharks. So far, the behavior is localized to the Gulf of California and it seems only juvenile whale sharks are affected. (Affected is a polite way of saying the killer whales ram into the sharks, bite off their genitals, let them bleed out, and then suck out their livers.) I mean. Wow. Anyway, you can read more about that one here!
And there’s more to come!
On deck, we have pandas, snails, velvet ants, frogs, and the mating habits of insects! I still can’t believe I get to talk to smart people about animals all day, every day, and then scream that science from the rooftops for some of the best publications in the world.
By the way, if you’re a scientist, wildlife manager, or PR person looking to get some press for a story or forthcoming study, please do say ‘hi’. Same goes for editors who may be looking for someone who’s absolutely obsessed with animal science.
It’s nearly 2025. Let’s fucking go.
