A new invasive species of hornet found in US, experts say. It feasts on honey bees
A new invasive bee-eating hornet has been detected in the U.S. for the first time, Georgia officials say.
In early August, a beekeeper near Savannah, Georgia, noticed an unusual-looking hornet and reported it to authorities, the Georgia Department of Agriculture said in a news release. Experts were called in, and they confirmed the specimen was a yellow-legged hornet, a native of tropical and subtropical portions of Southeast Asia.
One of its favorite food sources is the honey bee, the GDA says.
The University of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Health Inspection Service and the GDA announced the hornet’s arrival Aug. 15.
Although reports indicate only one hornet was found, experts are sounding the alarms over the potential ecological impact this invasive wasp could have.
“If allowed to establish in Georgia, (the hornets) could potentially threaten honey production, native pollinators and our state’s number one industry — agriculture,” experts wrote in the news release.
Responsible for $74 billion in economic impact each year, agribusiness is the biggest industry in Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
“These pollinators play a significant role in Georgia’s agriculture industry,” according to the news release. “And it is imperative that these invasive pests are tracked and eradicated.”
Honey bees themselves are not actually native to the U.S., according to the USDA, but they play an important role in circulating the pollen that helps crops grow. “Honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops in the United States each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables,” experts say.
The yellow-legged hornet is related to the northern giant hornet, also referred to as the Asian giant hornet or the “murder hornet” because of its method of killing bees.
That species was found in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, and experts began an aggressive campaign to track down and eradicate the invasive species, which also poses a threat to pollinators. In 2022, no northern giant hornets were found in Washington state, the Associated Press reported.
The yellow-legged hornet is a social wasp, according to the GDA. It builds egg-shaped paper nests above the ground, often in trees, and its nests can house 6,000 workers on average.
State officials are asking residents to report any sightings of the hornet, which is known by its namesake yellow legs. However, experts warn that other hornets in the U.S. may look like the yellow-legged hornet but are native species and do not harm bees, according to the news release.
“Georgians play an important role helping GDA identify unwanted, non-native pests, and I want to thank the beekeeper who reported his sighting to us,” Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said.
Harper said multiple agencies are working together to “trap, track, and eradicate the yellow-legged hornet in Georgia.”
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