06/13/2026
Every summer somebody spots a wasp the size of a thumb and instantly thinks "murder hornet."
Here's the relief: the northern giant hornet was declared eradicated from the US at the end of 2024, with no confirmed sightings anywhere since 2021. The giant wasp patrolling your lawn is almost always an eastern cicada killer — one of the largest wasps in North America, and a gentle one. The big male that dive-bombs your head has no stinger at all; he's just guarding his patch of dirt. The female can sting but is so docile she won't unless you grab her, and she spends her days hunting cicadas, not people. Tell them apart by the belly, not the size: a giant hornet wears even orange-and-black bands, while a cicada killer has broken, jagged yellow marks on black and rusty amber wings.
The hornet from the headlines is gone. The giant dive-bombing your head can't sting you.
