Bees Facing Another Threat as Cousin of 'Murder Hornet' Appears in U.S.

A non-native hornet species has been identified in the wild in the United States for the first time, and it could pose a threat to the nation's bees.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) announced in a statement the detection of a living yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) in the state.

The insect is a relative of the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), which is sometimes referred to as the "murder hornet" because of its voracious appetite for bees. Like its Asian giant hornet relative, the yellow-legged hornet is also a fearsome predator of honeybees.

"Its nickname is the 'bee hawk' for good reason. They're very agile—they can swoop down and capture honeybees in air and from the front of their hives," University of Georgia honeybee specialist Keith Delaplane said during a news conference Tuesday.

The yellow-legged hornet poses a potential risk to honeybees in the U.S. If the species is allowed to establish itself, the GDA said, it could threaten honey production, agriculture and native pollinators.

The yellow-legged hornet is a social species that constructs egg-shaped nests above ground, often in trees. These nests can grow to large sizes, containing an average of around 6,000 worker hornets.

This hornet is native to tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia. But it has become established as an invasive species in most of Europe, parts of the Middle East and other regions of Asia where it is not native.

Now, detection of the yellow-legged hornet has been confirmed in Georgia for the first time in the state and the United States as a whole. If the species manages to establish itself in the country, it will pose yet another risk to honeybees in the U.S., which are already facing a range of threats.

Managed honeybees are a critical part of the food supply, pollinating a number of the crops that we eat. Pollination by honeybees adds at least $18 billion to the value of American agriculture, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But managed honeybees have come under pressure from several different stressors that are resulting in the loss of many colonies. These threats include parasites and pests, pathogens, insufficient or incomplete nutrition, exposure to pesticides and climate change. These factors can, and often do, overlap with one another, threatening the ability of colonies to survive.

Perhaps the single most serious problem leading to colony losses is the Varroa mite. The mite, which arrived in the United States in the late 1980s, parasitizes honeybees and has been responsible for huge numbers of colony losses.

Despite the threats they face, managed honeybees in the United States are not necessarily in decline, with the number of colonies remaining relatively stable in recent years. But this is only because beekeepers are becoming better at compensating for losses—a process that is very expensive and time-consuming.

Huge numbers of hives are still being lost every year. A survey conducted by the University of Maryland and Auburn University, for example, showed that 48 percent of honeybee colonies were lost in the year that ended April 1—the second-highest death rate on record.

Detecting the Yellow-Legged Hornet

The confirmation of the yellow-legged hornet came after a beekeeper in Savannah, Georgia, found an unusual hornet on his property and reported it to the GDA.

On August 9, researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the University of Georgia's (UGA) identification of the species.

"Georgians play an important role helping GDA identify unwanted, non-native pests, and I want to thank the beekeeper who reported his sighting to us," GDA Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a statement.

The GDA is now working with APHIS and UGA to trap, track and eradicate yellow-legged hornets in Georgia. The department is encouraging Georgians to report any sightings of the hornets and has provided an easily accessible form for this purpose.

The GDA said there are many domestic look-alikes native to the United States that do not pose a threat to honeybees. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a photo gallery of these look-alikes (search for "yellow-legged hornet").

While the yellow-legged hornet does not generally pose a significant risk to humans, the GDA urges people to use caution if they spot one because the insect can inflict a painful sting.

If you happen to observe a yellow-legged hornet in another state or territory, the GDA said, you should report the sighting to the local department of agriculture for the jurisdiction.

At present, the extent of how the yellow-legged hornet will affect anything is not yet clear, entomologist and director of technical service with American pest control company, Orkin, Glen Ramsey, told Newsweek.

"It was found, but we don't know if there are more. The assumption is yes, but we don't know," he said. "We are unsure of the potential implication of the hornet's establishment to the honeybee population, but it feeds on bees, so there is a suspected impact. To what extent is not known since we are unsure if the hornet has any predators as well."

"The situation is very fluid at the moment, and we will undoubtedly learn more as hive inspections happen and we see if more are discovered in the area," Ramsey said. "Increased awareness and surveillance will undoubtedly start and provide more information."

Update 8/24/23, 4:27 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional comments from Glen Ramsey.