6th invasive yellow-legged hornet nest found in US
Authorities in Georgia are asking the public for help in tracking an invasive hornet species that preys on honeybees and other pollinators. The insect is a close relative of the “murder hornet,” and if allowed to flourish, it could threaten agriculture − the state’s main economic driver.
The move comes after the Georgia Department of Agriculture eradicated a yellow-legged hornet’s nest reported by a resident at a home in greater Savannah on Monday, agency spokesperson Matthew Agvent said Thursday.
It was the sixth yellow-hornet nest discovered and destroyed in the United States since last summer, state land management officials told USA TODAY. So far, the nests have only been discovered in Georgia.
A couple of yellow-legged hornets have been found in the neighboring part of South Carolina, but they have not found any nests on their side.
The first yellow-legged hornet nest was spotted in August by a Savannah beekeeper who reported the sighting to the state Department of Agriculture. The finding marked the first detection of the non-native species in “the open United States,” according to state and federal authorities.
DOA staff and pest management professionals destroyed the nest on Aug. 23 in a residential neighborhood on Wilmington Island.
After the nest was eradicated, scientists Lewis Bartlett with the University of Georgia and Jamie Ellis with the University of Florida examined it and identified developing hornets within the nest but found no evidence of reproductive males or queens in the colony.
It’s not yet known how the invasive insects made their way to U.S. soil, but University of Georgia scientists have found evidence suggesting they originated in Asia.
In addition to threatening domestic and feral honeybees, the hornets threaten crops, according to the USDA.
The yellow-legged hornet is a wasp species that can grow up to an inch long, according to the nation’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Mated queens emerge in the spring to find a food source, establish an embryonic nest, and begin producing workers, land management officials said. Once the colony has grown enough, they will establish a much larger secondary nest in the summer.
“In our experience these secondary nests are typically located about 80 to 100 feet high in a tree,” Agvent said. The nests, which contain up to 6,000 workers, can also be found on garages, barns and sheds.
The nests found last year were larger, secondary nests, but “the nest that was located and destroyed on Monday was an embryonic nest,” Agvent said.
This week, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said the agency, in coordination with federal and state partners, is “significantly stepping up” efforts to eradicate the yellow-legged hornet.
The number of traps in the Savannah area will be increased from 170 in 2023 to more than 1,000 this year, according to land management officials. Harper said the department is also hiring additional staff and using “cuttingedge technology.”