November 2025 Yellow-Legged Hornet Update: More nest removals, continue to report 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: Clemson Department of Plant Industry (DPI) is actively searching multiple locations in Beaufort County and Jasper County for Yellow-legged hornet secondary nests. Nests are becoming more visible with trees starting to defoliate. We continue to ask the public to report nests to the YLH Reporting Tool. We ask the public to be patient, we receive a high volume of reports every day. Every report helps. Reports will receive an automated response.
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
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.
Lowcounty residents should stay vigilant and report YLH. This is important to slow the spread of the Yellow-legged hornet across South Carolina. Beekeepers please monitor your apiaries for YLH Hawking behavior.
Photo Description: The above picture was taken in Beaufort County. This YLH secondary nest was located in an Oak tree. This pear-shaped nest barely fit into this 77-gallon container.
Please DO NOT attempt to remove a secondary 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.
Photo description: The above pictures were taken in Beaufort County. The YLH has a robust diet that includes carbohydrates from diverse sources. Carbohydrates provide energy to YLH for many functions that include flight, foraging, thermoregulation of the nest, and general activities.
YLH By the Numbers – 2025 YLH stats as of 11/14/2025
- 11 embryo, 22 primary, and 43 secondary nests have been located and removed in 2025, 56 out of 76 nests have been reported by the public
- 1,389 traps set in Beaufort County, Jasper County, Colleton County, Charleston County, and Hampton County
- 15,974 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 during the Spring 2025
- 17,941 YLH adults have been caught in throughout the 2025 trapping season
YLH Mapping: Queens & Nests
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.
- 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.
Photo description: The above pictures were taken in Beaufort County, SC. This represents an example of a YLH nest that is being located and removed. YLH will establish nests in multiple types of trees, on and inside structures.
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.
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 of South Carolina to inspect all outdoor structures including trees for any YLH activity and report any findings to the YLH Reporting Tool. A property inspection should also include reporting any nests found in trees or shrubs. Beekeepers are still encouraged to report any hawking behavior. Please be patient for a follow-up to any report, there has been an increase in reporting.
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
- 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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