Home

Chris Looney / Murder Hornets

·

Chris Looney / Murder Hornets

The Asian giant hornet—better known as the murder hornet- has made its way across the Pacific to US/Canada. It can wipe out a bee hive in short order, but is it evil or just an excellent hunter?

Click above to listen to part 2 of Home Invasions, featuring Chris Looney, entomologist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, where he manages its general entomology laboratory. He’s pictured above, sporting a dead Asian giant hornet on his jacket for size comparison.

Home Invasions:
Part 1: Invasion Invaded
Part 2: Chris Looney / Murder Hornets
Part 3: Nipun Basrur / Locust Plague
Part 4: Amy Maxmen / Pandemic Preparedness

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Latest episodes