Yellow-Legged Hornet Found on Vancouver Ship as 100-Plus Nests Spread in South Carolina
Updated
Updated · Rogue Valley Times · Jun 9
Yellow-Legged Hornet Found on Vancouver Ship as 100-Plus Nests Spread in South Carolina
3 articles · Updated · Rogue Valley Times · Jun 9
Summary
A live yellow-legged hornet was found April 30 on a ship at the Port of Vancouver, prompting Washington state agriculture officials to set traps and search the area.
Apiary experts say the species poses a bigger threat than the northern giant hornet because it is more mobile, builds larger nests and can survive across much more of the U.S.
The hornet has already spread widely after arriving in France in 2004, and U.S. officials first detected it in Georgia in 2023; neighboring South Carolina has since found more than 100 nests.
Honeybee losses linked to the species have been estimated at 3% to 30% in Spain, underscoring the risk to pollination and agriculture if it establishes in the Pacific Northwest.