In a move towards diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Entomological Society of America's Governing Board revised their naming policy for the ESA Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List, and began a "program to review and replace insect common names that may be inappropriate or offensive" in March 2021. ESA's previous President Michelle S. Smith, BCE stated:
"The purpose of common names is to make communication easier between scientists and the public audiences they serve. By and large, ESA's list of recognized insect common names succeeds in this regard, but names that are unwelcoming to marginalized communities run directly counter to that goal,"
Following suite with ESA's common naming revision initiative, comes this July 25, 2022 announcement that the common name for Vespa mandarinia would be changed from "Murder hornet" or "Asian giant hornet" to "Northern giant hornet". Current ESA President Jessica Ware, Ph.D. stated:
"Northern giant hornet is both scientifically accurate and easy to understand, and it avoids evoking fear or discrimination."
National Geographic reported that researcher Chris Looney's Northern giant hornet name proposal was partly due to the fact that:
"All hornets are Asian hornets," Looney says—it's redundant. "It's like adding the word 'ocean' to whale names."
Also included with Chris Looney's approved name proposal was adoption of "Southern giant hornet" as the common name for Vespa soror, pictured below:
