Scientists returned to the scene of the crime to finish the job they started last week -- and it appears they succeeded, snatching not just one, but TWO queen murder hornets.
Officials from the Washington State Department of Agriculture went out on another mission earlier this week to remove a tree they suspected still had quite a fair amount of hornets in its trunk, not to mention at least one queen that escaped their clutches last time around.
Turns out, they were right and then some ... not only was there a queen still burrowed in there, but there was a second fully-grown one as well. And, the crew got both!
Check out this video that documents their process. First, they cut the tree in question down, wrapped in plastic, sawed down the middle, pumped its innards with carbon dioxide to stun the hornets and then pried it open with heavy-duty tools to remove what they found.
What that was ... two massive queens, whose size you can see from the tubes they were housed in after the fact. Scientists believe one might be a newbie queen, and one might be the OG ... which helped spawn the hive -- where several other almost fully-developed were growing in what the crew calls white-capped cells. It's gnarly all around ... watch.
For now, it would appear it's mission accomplished in Blaine, WA -- although WSDA says they'll continue to look for other hornets that might still be hovering around. They'll also study the hornets they have captured -- several dozens worth -- to understand the species more.