The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the former subspecies referred to as the "Japanese giant hornet", is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East. It was also found in the Pacific Northwest of North America in late 2019, with no reports since to suggest that they have become established there. They prefer to live in low mountains and forests, while almost completely avoiding plains and high-altitude climates. V. mandarinia creates nests by digging, co-opting pre-existing tunnels dug by rodents, or occupying spaces near rotted pine roots. It feeds primarily on larger insects, colonies of other eusocial insects, tree sap, and honey from honey bee colonies. The hornet has a body length of 45 mm (1.8 in), a wingspan around 75 mm (3.0 in), and a stinger 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long, which injects a large amount of potent venom.

In September 2019, the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that hornets were found on Vancouver Island in Canada, with a nest having been discovered and subsequently destroyed in the city of Nanaimo. In December 2019, the Washington State Department of Agriculture confirmed a reported sighting, as well as a dead specimen in Blaine, Washington on the U.S. side of the border adjacent to Vancouver Island, the first report of this species in the United States, and very close to the September sightings. In April 2020, authorities in Washington asked members of the public to be alert and report any sightings of these wasps, which are expected to become active in April if they are in the area. If they become established, it is claimed that the hornets "could decimate bee populations in the United States and establish such a deep presence that all hope for eradication could be lost."