2nd Nest Of Dangerous Hornet Species Spotted Near Savannah

WILMINGTON ISLAND, GA — More than a month after Georgia agriculture officials announced the first live U.S. detection of a yellow-legged hornet, officials said a second nest was recently found on Wilmington Island near Savannah.

The Department of Agriculture said the first sighting of the hornet in the open U.S. was on Aug. 9 in Savannah.

Weeks later, an agriculture staffer found a nest on Sept. 15 under a bridge in a residential community on Wilmington Island. It was destroyed by agriculture staff and pest management workers.

"This nest was located using a variety of techniques, including capturing, marking and releasing hornets to estimate the distance from the trapping location to the nest. Additionally, hornets were captured, taken to different locations and released so their flight direction could be observed. As this process was repeated, the size of the search area was gradually reduced until the nest was located," officials said in a news release.

Officials did not find evidence of reproductive males or females in the nest, according to the release.

"So far, confirmed detections of the yellow-legged hornet have been made in 12 separate locations around Wilmington Island, Whitemarsh Island and Thunderbolt," officials said in the release.

They added nine of the sightings were reported to officials by residents, and three were captured in traps set by the agriculture department.

The department has two teams deployed in the Savannah area for trapping and surveying for additional nests, the release said. At least 130 traps have been placed in the area near the initial detection.

“Since the initial detection of the yellow-legged hornet in Georgia, the department’s team of dedicated professionals have been working overtime to find any additional yellow-legged hornets in our state, and thanks to their tireless work, we have eradicated a second yellow-legged hornet’s nest,” Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a news release.

“While this eradication is a win for our state and our agriculture industry, we’ll continue working around the clock to find any additional hornets, eradicate this invasive pest and protect our state’s agriculture industry. The public has played a vital role in this effort, and we’re asking Georgians to continue reporting any suspected sightings directly to the department.”

Yellow-legged hornets prey on honeybees and impact beekeeping activities, according to the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine. People are asked to exercise precaution when around these hornets.

Agriculture officials asked the public to report any sightings as the species is a threat to agriculture, Georgia's number one industry.

Native to Southeast Asia, the yellow-legged hornets can make egg-shaped paper nests above ground, frequently in trees. These nests have the potential to become large homes to an average of 6,000 hornets.

The yellow-legged hornets can also be found in most of Europe, parts of the Middle East and parts of Asia where it is not native, agriculture officials said.

To report a possible sighting of a yellow-legged hornet, complete the agriculture department's Watch Report Form. People can also email the agriculture department.