Knowledgebase

Is this a murder hornet I found in Oregon? #759977

Asked July 04, 2021, 8:09 PM EDT

Hi! I wanted to submit this photo that I have of a very large insect that we found while on a camping trip in the Siuslaw National Forest near Florence, Oregon. I swatted it off of my boyfriend's knee while we were sitting around our camp. He stepped on it and it was severed in half, the half portion from the lower half. Both portions of the insect kept moving independently for more than an hour after being severed. I have included what photos I can with this form, but I also have additional photos and video that I took of it. We also saw 3 or 4 similar insects flying through our campsite but were unable to get as close of a look as this one. We are camping at the Forest Service's North Fork Dispersed Campground in the Siuslaw National Forest. We are approximately 25 miles south on North Fork Rd. from Hwy 126. The North Fork Rd. turnoff is about a mile east of Florence, Oregon on the central/ southern coast.

Lane County Oregon

Expert Response

Thanks for keeping an eye out for invasive insects. 

What you have is a wasp, but not a hornet. It looks to me like one of our native sawflies. These wasps are very gentle and herbivorous. The long stinger-like thing on the back is not a stinger at all. It is used to slip the wasps eggs into plant material. It does not live in a colony. It doesn't swarm. Just a solitary wasp out looking to make a living. 

The Asian Giant Hornets - or the so called "murder hornets" - that you are hearing about in the news, which continue to only be found in northwest Washington. For more information on the Asian Giant Hornet read the new and freely downloadable guide from OSU Extension: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9297

Andony Melathopoulos, Assistant Professor Pollinator Health Extension Department of Horticulture | Oregon State University 4017 Agricultural and Life Science Building | Corvallis, OR 97331-7304 cell: (541) 452-3038 Andony.Melathopoulos@oregonstate.edu oregon bee atlas | oregon bee project | twitter | facebook | instagram | podcast Replied July 07, 2021, 5:08 PM EDT

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