September 2025 Yellow-Legged Hornet Update: Recent Removal Alert and Secondary Nests
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.
Photo description: The Yellow-legged hornet has now entered the secondary phase. Nests are in trees and will increase size and populations. We are asking people to report nests to the YLH Reporting Tool. Every report helps. This nest was located at approximately 65 feet.
Photo description: Nests are located in several types of trees including Palms. This massive secondary nest located 15 feet in this palm was discovered in Beaufort County. Professional exterminators help ensure nests are removed safely and quickly making sure the queen doesn’t escape to reestablish a new nest site.
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 detection. 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
Latest Buzz
Are you or someone you know interested in helping to stop the spread of the Yellow-Legged Hornet? We are accepting applications for a Hornet Survey Specialist closing Monday, September 29th.
The Clemson Department of Plant Industry (DPI) and USDA inspectors placed and monitor Yellow-Legged hornet traps throughout Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, Charleston, 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 beach 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. Some unique locations include a water meter box in the ground and several inside the rooflines of structures.
Lowcountry residents should stay stay vigilant and report YLH. This is important important to slowing the spread. Beekeepers please monitor your apiaries for YLH Hawking behavior.
Photo description: This YLH primary nest was located and removed from 70 feet a pine tree in Beaufort County.
Please DO NOT attempt to remove nests on your own. Report it to the YLH Reporting Tool and someone will contact you and arrange for a removal. This will ensure the queen does not fly off and start a new nest location.
Photo description: This YLH secondary nest was located and removed from 75 feet in an Oak tree in Beaufort County.
YLH By the Numbers – 2025 YLH stats as of 09/16/2025
- 10 Embryo nests, 17 Primary nests, and 15 Secondary nests were located and removed
- 1,295 traps set in Beaufort County, Jasper County, Colleton County, Charleston County, and Hampton County
- 11,892 YLH trap services completed in Beaufort County, Jasper County, Colleton County, Charleston County, and Hampton County
- More than 400 YLH Queens have been caught and removed from the SC environment
For 2024 YLH data, check out a previous edition of the Hornet Herald, linked here.
YLH Mapping: Queens & Nests
See the maps below for YLH nests and queens that have been discovered 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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- ALL REPORTS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A PHOTO WITH THE REPORT. AN IDENTIFICATION CANNOT BE MADE OR VERIFIED WITHOUT A PHOTO.
- Public support has been critical for many successful nest removals in 2025, as 32 of 42 YLH nests have been reported by the public.
Photo description: These secondary nests in Beaufort County, SC represent several examples of trees and structures where YLH can be found. Please DO NOT attempt to remove a nest on your own. Report it to the YLH Reporting Tool and someone will contact you and arrange the removal. This will ensure the queen does not fly off and start a new nest location.
YLH Life Cycle
Please familiarize yourself 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.
YLH Secondary nests have been constructed and are beginning to expand as more workers emerge and take on nest construction and expansion. We are encouraging people that live in the Lowcountry of South Carolina to inspect all outdoor structures, trees, and shrubs for any YLH activity and report any findings. Beekeepers are encouraged to report hawking behavior. Please be patient for a response.
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. Furthermore, the identification, quarantine, and disposal of introduced pests at effective levels would not be possible.
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
- Clemson® DPI Resources
- USDA APHIS on YLH
- Georgia Department of Agriculture on YLH
- Clemson Extension’s Apiculture and Pollinator Program
- Article on Exotic Hornet Threats to Apiculture
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