What's the Buzz About Yellow Legged Hornets?

In September 2019, a northern giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia)—aka “murder hornet”—was found in Washington state. Fortunately, due to swift action taken by the general public in monitoring traps and reporting sightings and by the Washington State Department of Agriculture in destroying nests, none have been found since 2021. If none are detected for three years (almost there🤞), they can officially be declared eradicated. (Note: WSDA is investigating a
report received on October 14, 2024 of a possible northern giant hornet in Kitsap County. Fingers- crossed this is not a northern giant hornet.) Stand by for more updates as they become available. 

But just when beekeepers on the West Coast were starting to breathe a sigh of relief, in August 2023 the murder hornet’s smaller cousin, the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina), was found in Savannah, Georgia. This is of great concern for the beekeeping industry because, like the northern giant hornet, yellow-legged hornets (YLH) can decimate honey bee colonies. It is also concerning because we know that, based on France’s experience when YLHs were discovered there in 2004, once this invasive species gets established, it can spread fast.

 In France, the spread was as much as 100 km (62 miles) per year. However, according to Dr. Lewis Bartlett, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Georgia, one of the ways they can spread over even greater distances is via queens, which are overwintering in the soil of ornamental plants, that are shipped to nurseries. Georgia has many open-air nurseries that ship plants all across the country. In France and in Savannah, both problems originated from an overwintering queen in imported goods.

 The state of Georgia overlaid on France. France is approximately 2.5 times larger than Georgia (USA) 

 *Approximate location where Vespa Velutina was found in France in 2004. In less than 10 years Vespa Velutina had spread throughout all of France and beyond.

* Found in Savannah, GA in 2023. Found across the Savannah River in South Carolina in 2024

Because the YLH does not look much different than the wasps and hornets we already have, it is easy for them to go unnoticed. In Georgia, beekeepers who reported seeing hawking, which is unique to YLHs, alerted authorities to most of the nests found. It is vital for all beekeepers in the areas considered to be climatically favorable to yellow-legged hornets to at least have basic knowledge about them.

If you want to learn more about yellow-legged hornets, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) has some good information on their website, including the GDA’s newsletter updates containing all the postings of the Yellow Legged Ledger. You can also message me on Facebook or send an email to Lynne Jones -  BrazosRiverHoney77474@gmail.com

By: Lynne Jones