(upbeat music) - I'm Starla Sampaco in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.

(upbeat music) The so-called murder hornet is getting a new, more ethical name, the northern giant hornet.

After the large invasive insect from Asia landed in Washington State in 2019, The New York Times described it as a murder hornet, with ample reference to the hornet's powerful stings and methods of eating honeybees.

The descriptor stuck and inspired panic.

The insect also became known colloquially as the Asian giant hornet.

However, these nicknames don't help people distinguish the insect.

There are multiple hornets from Asia and concerns also grew about the nickname escalating anti-Asian xenophobia.

The President of the Entomological Society of America, Dr. Jessica Ware said, "The new name northern giant hornet avoids evoking fear or discrimination."

I'm Starla Sampaco.

Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.

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