South Carolina fights invasive yellow‑legged hornets threatening bees and honey production

The Asian yellow‑legged hornet (Vespa velutina) was first recorded near Savannah, Georgia, in August 2023, just miles from the South Carolina border, and confirmed in Jasper County in November 2023. The hornet can decimate managed and wild bee colonies, endangering pollination and honey yields across the state’s Lowcountry.

A response led by Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry and the Clemson Cooperative Extension Apiculture program, with USDA‑APHIS support, has deployed traps, a public‑reporting system, and nest‑removal crews. By early 2025 the program had destroyed 16 nests; by March 2026 it reported nearly 200 nests removed the previous year and the killing of more than 400 queens in a single York County nest. The effort has since eliminated hundreds of additional nests, helping to safeguard South Carolina’s beekeeping industry and the crops that depend on pollination.