Out With the Old Name, In With the New Name

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has adopted northern giant hornet for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms list. While there was no official ESA common name until now, the hornet has been most often referred to as the Asian giant hornet or the murder hornet since its introduction in North America became widely known in 2020.

The proposal to establish an ESA common name for V. mandarinia came from Dr. Chris Looney, who has been involved in the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) hornet research and efforts to eradicate northern giant hornets from Washington.

In conjunction with northern giant hornet, ESA also adopted Looney’s proposals for southern giant hornet as the common name for the species Vespa soror and yellow-legged hornet for Vespa velutina. V. soror is closely related to V. mandarinia and, similar to V. mandarinia, V. soror is a large species. The descriptors northern and southern refer to the species’ native geographic ranges in Asia.

The new official common names are intended to comply with ESA’s insect common names guidelines, which include avoiding naming insects using geographic regions. The new names also should help reduce confusion between V. mandarinia — which had been known as Asian giant hornet — and V. velutina — which had been known as the Asian hornet.

The northern giant hornet is an invasive hornet native to Asia that has been the target of eradication efforts in Washington state and British Columbia, Canada, after individual hornets were first discovered in both locations in 2019. WSDA entomologists have eradicated four northern giant hornet nests since they were first discovered in Washington.

Truly Nolen Participates in Rodeo de Santa Fe

For the first time since 2019, Rodeo de Santa Fe returned to its traditional late-June slot on the calendar after being canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and moved to September in 2021. Truly Nolen of America, a longtime partner of New Mexico’s most famous rodeo, had team members from its Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe service offices assisting on-site during the June 22-25 event.

The company displayed several banners throughout the stadium and sponsored the bull fighters who assist with keeping bull riders safe.

The event included the Exceptional Kids’ Rodeo, which gives children with special needs the opportunity to participate in a kid-sized rodeo.