Regulatory Services

Hornet Herald

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December 2025 Yellow-Legged Hornet Update: Movement of YLH Beyond Lowcountry Confirmed

Our goal is to keep you informed about the Yellow-legged Hornet (YLH) infestation in South Carolina. Supportive community relationships are essential to the success of detecting, tracking, and removing this pest. This update is being issued to collaborators, communities, and stakeholders, and we invite you to share this information with anyone who may be affected by our operations.

Background

What happened? In August 2023, Vespa velutina, Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) was detected in the United States for the first time near Savannah, GA, less than five miles from the South Carolina-Georgia border. In Spring 2024, several YLH queens and one embryo nest were found in Beaufort County; worker detections continued through summer.

Why do we care? Yellow-Legged Hornets prey on honeybees, causing reduced foraging and colony failure. This impact would result in reduced honey and other honeybee products and reduced crop production due to decreased pollination by honeybees and native pollinators.

What are we doing? With the Support of USDA APHIS, Clemson’s Honeybee Protection Program is surveying for YLH focusing on detecting workers and finding nests within a wide area around the initial detections. Baited traps are used to initially detect hornets, followed by tracking live hornets to narrow down the nest search area. Eradication focuses on locating and destroying nests including queens. Nests should ideally be destroyed by late summer or very early fall before new queens are actively mating and dispersing. Nest destruction will continue throughout the fall and early winter.

What does it look like?

  • Body length: Ranges from 0.7 – 1.0 inches
  • Colorations:
    • Head: Mostly black with some front-facing yellow/orange; Black eyes
    • Thorax: Mostly solid black/dark brown
    • Abdomen: Alternating bands of dark brown/black and yellow/orange
    • Legs: Brown or black near the body, ending in yellow segments
Guillame Souvan/AFP/Getty Images

York County Detection 

  • 11-21-2025: A beekeeper in York County noticed a hornet hawking honeybees in their apiary. 
  • 11-24-2025: The beekeeper captured a hornet and reported it to the YLH Reporting Tool. 
  • 11-25-2025: The YLH Response Team contacted the beekeeper, collected the sample, and placed traps in the surrounding area. 
  • 12-01-2025: One YLH was caught in a trap, confirming the report, and allowing the chain of custody sample needed to verify the presence in York County. 
  • 12-08-2025: YLH Response Team members discovered the nest using information provided by the beekeeper and trapping data, and the removal was planned. 
  • 12-09-2025: Clemson’s news article was publish and the nest was successful removed.
 
Yellow-legged Hornet nest that was located and removed in York County, South Carolina. 
Photo Credits: Brad Cavin & Caroline Oatley, Clemson University Department of Plant Industry

Next Steps: 

  • Expansion of YLH traps in York County to reduce YLH Queens overwintering. 
  • Extended public outreach to York County, including social media, mailed information, and more to reach as many stakeholders as possible. 
  • Reminders to use the public reporting tool to beekeepers and the public. 
  • Reminders for beekeepers to remain vigilant for YLH hawking honeybees in apiaries and REPORT sightings. 

Latest Buzz

The Clemson Department of Plant Industry (DPI) and USDA inspectors placed and regularly monitor Yellow-Legged hornet traps throughout Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, Charleston, York, and Hampton Counties of South Carolina. Trapping sites are established near known YLH detections and honeybee colonies.

DPI is catching workers which means YLH nests have now switched from the Embryo nest stage to the Secondary nest stage. Secondary nests are built by workers, and nests will vary in size from the of a basketball to a large yoga ball. Nesting sites typically are found in a protected area sheltered from environmental conditions such as bushes, trees, underneath roof lines, and eaves of buildings ranging in height from 6-100 feet high.

Photo credits: Allison Lewis; Clemson University Department of Plant Industry 

YLH By the Numbers – 2025 YLH stats as of 12/10/2025

  • 11 embryo, 23 primary, and 56 secondary nests have been located and removed in 2025
  • 65 out of 90 nests have been reported by the public 
  • 1,466 traps set in Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, Charleston, York, and Hampton Counties
  • 17,529 trap services completed
  • 400+ Queens have been caught and removed from the SC environment
  • 23,357 adults have been caught in throughout the 2025 trapping season

YLH Mapping: Nests & Traps

The above map reflects YLH nests located and removed in 2024-25. To view the live map, please follow this link to Clemson® DPI’s GIS map of known YLH nest locations in South Carolina.
The above map is the current YLH Survey response area. The number in the zone is how many YLH Queens have been captured in YLH traps.

What you can do

  • Beekeepers: Beekeepers play a vital role in monitoring apiaries and colonies for YLH activity and reporting YLH sightings to Clemson® DPI’s reporting tool. Reporting activity helps DPI deploy traps if needed and attempt to identify the nest location in a timely manner. Keep an eye out for hawking behavior on honeybee colonies.
  • Citizens: All South Carolina citizens can familiarize themselves with hornet and nest identification and assist with reporting. A citizen trapping program for the YLH is now live. The program includes instructions & videos on constructing traps, baits, and reporting YLH findings.
  • The Yellow-legged hornet is an invasive species that will move to new areas primarily through human activities such as trade, travel, and tourism, often hitching rides on vehicles and cargo, so please be careful and inspect your items prior to travel especially if you live in a YLH infested area.
  • DO NOT attempt to remove a nest on your own. Report it to the YLH Reporting Tool. Someone from the YLH Response Team will contact you and arrange the removal. We will make sure to remove the nest and queen; this will ensure the queen does not fly off and start a new nest location.
  • ALL REPORTS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A PHOTO WITH THE REPORT. AN IDENTIFICATION CANNOT BE MADE OR VERIFIED WITHOUT A PHOTO.

Photo Description: A huge thank you to local citizens for their care and effort in using our reporting tool. The above pictures were all from reports. We require photos that include hornets and nests. Due to the volume of reports an automated response is generated, however if more information is needed a YLH Response Team member will contact the reporter.

YLH Life Cycle

Additionally, South Carolina citizens can familiarize themselves with the YLH lifecycle to assist with year-round identification. By recognizing the YLH in different life stages and understanding the different nests constructed throughout the YLH lifecycle, citizens can assist in the early detection and eradication of YLH infestations.

Caroline Oatley; Clemson University DPI

YLH Secondary nests have been constructed and are in the dispersal stage of the life cycle. Dispersal is a multistep process where new queens (gynes) and males are produced. The queens will seek a sheltered location to overwinter; some examples are loose soil, leaf litter, mulch, and tree bark crevices. Nests are at peak population, which means more worker hornets, more foraging behavior, more protein available, and therefore more brood. We are encouraging people that live in the Low Country or York County of South Carolina to inspect all outdoor structures, trees, and shrubs for any YLH activity and report any findings. Beekeepers are still encouraged to report any hawking behavior.

Closing

The mission of Clemson University Department of Plant Industry (DPI) is to protect South Carolina’s agricultural resources and natural ecosystems from the introduction and spread of invasive species and to enhance the efficiency of South Carolina’s agriculture. South Carolina faces major concerns from biosecurity issues and exotic pests. Without federal assistance, South Carolina would not be able to maintain early detection, provide maximum affordable laboratory capability, and maintain a field force to conduct surveys and identify, quarantine, and dispose of introduced pests at effective levels.

Clemson DPI would like to recognize the funding and support received from the USDA, without which YLH trapping efforts would not be possible. We would also like to thank the Georgia Department of Agriculture for their invaluable expertise and collaboration on YLH eradication in South Carolina.

Helpful Links

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Posted in Invasive Species, Plant Industry, Yellow-legged Hornet