Invasive hornet nest is gone, but concerns linger in 2-state region

CLEMSON, S.C. - A new invasive hornet was found for the first time in America, just miles away from the Georgia-South Carolina border.

The yellow-legged hornets eat bees, so they pose a threat to the pollinators that produce honey.

Although the hornet nest near Savannah was eradicated, beekeepers are watching out in case any got away.

Clemson University officials said they are urging South Carolina beekeepers and the public to look out for yellow-legged hornets.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture began investigating after a beekeeper in the Savannah area found an unusual hornet and reported it.

According to GDA officials, on Aug. 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed that the insect was a yellow-legged hornet or Vespa velutina. Officials added that this was the first time a yellow-legged hornet has been found in the U.S.

It was a shock to beekeepers like Tim Dover with The Carolina Honey Bee Co.

“When this first came on the news, I was like great, you know this is wonderful. It’s going to be another biblical plague on the beekeepers like we don’t have enough to deal with already,” he said.

Officials stated that while the yellow-legged hornet isn’t more harmful to humans than other hornets, it can impact bee populations.

“The yellow-legged hornet is a predatory insect that has been reported to attack western honeybee colonies and has become a serious pest of beekeeping operations where it has been introduced,” said Ben Powell, director of Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Apiary and Pollinator program. “Establishment of this exotic pest in the U.S. would pose a significant threat to our already embattled beekeeping enterprises.”

The yellow-legged hornet hasn’t been detected in South Carolina. However, Clemson’s Department of Plant Industry Apiary Inspection Program is working with the Clemson Cooperative Extension Apiculture and Pollinator Program to monitor Lowcountry locations by using trapping systems.

“This Yellow-Legged Hornet, the nickname is Bee Hawk, and it’s agile and flies and swoops through the air and can pick off honeybees at their colonies,” said Brad Cavin, the Department of Plant Industry Apiary Inspection Program Coordinator. “So it could have a tremendous impact for the decline of honeybees if established.”

If you want to report a potential sighting of a yellow-legged hornet, click here.

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