Why Ga., S.C. farmers are worried about bee-eating hornet

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Experts are urging Georgia and South Carolina beekeepers and the public to look out for yellow-legged hornets after they were recently discovered near Savannah.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture said they began investigating after a beekeeper found an unusual hornet and reported it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed on Aug. 9 that the insect was a yellow-legged hornet or Vespa velutina. Officials added that this was the first time a yellow-legged hornet has been found in the U.S.

Keith Delaplane, the University of Georgia honeybee program director, said that while the yellow-legged hornet isn’t more harmful to humans than other hornets, it can impact bee populations.

For over 40 years, beekeepers have experienced challenges due to diseases and parasites, so the hornet just adds to those challenges.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture says it’s important to know that if the hornets do establish here in the long term, they won’t just affect pollinators and industry, but the livelihood of Georgia farmers.

Honeybees are responsible for about 80% of the world’s pollination. They play an important role in crops such as almonds, oranges and other fruits.

Researchers at the University of Georgia believe the hornets were transferred through import shipments from Asia.

“Their nickname is called ‘bee hawks’ because they can swoop down out the sky and pick them right out of the air and then grind up the bee” to feed on it, Delaplane said.

Across the Savannah River, Ben Powell at the Clemson Cooperative Extension said: “Establishment of this exotic pest in the U.S. would pose a significant threat to our already embattled beekeeping enterprises.”

A University of Georgia insect expert said the species will most likely be monitored for several years.

“Let’s pretend it was one nest and you kill that one nest. You’re going to monitor for several years, because the term ‘eradication’ means there’s zero, and knowing that there’s zero is very hard,” said Dr. Tim Davis.

While he says it’s too early to tell if the hornets will be a major issue for bee populations, Davis says the loss of pollinating insects threatens everything from food to textiles.

“That becomes an economic issue, because the honeybee industry in Georgia is a $480 million business.”

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