Invasive hornet nests the size of a car engine found in SC for 1st time. Why they’re dangerous

The hunt is on for invasive yellow-legged hornets that destroy honey bees after multiple large nests were found near Hilton Head.

The hornets were trapped and the site monitored, according to a release from the Clemson University Department of Plant Industry. Officials were notified by a beekeeper in Beaufort who videotaped hornets preying on his bees.

Yellow-legged hornets form three egg-shaped paper nests in their life span as the brood grows — an embryo nest, one of which was found in South Carolina in April, then they move to a basketball-sized primary nest, and finally a secondary nest that can be the size of a car engine.

Secondary nests are what Clemson officials found in Beaufort County, the first found in the state.

The secondary nests can hold as many as 6,000 hornets. They are native to Southeast Asia.

Two Clemson departments created an early warning system in 2023 to detect the hornets after a beekeeper in Georgia found one. Clemson scientists found a queen within a few months. One hornet can eat a dozen or more honey bees in a day, scientists say.

They look a lot like native insects, including the cicada killer wasp, the bald-faced hornet, paper wasps, queen yellow jackets, wood wasps and robber flies.

The yellow-legged hornet has become established in most of Europe and areas of the Middle East. Honeybees are essential to agriculture and forestry in South Carolina, which are the state’s largest industry. They are also diminishing due to pesticide use, environmental factors and mites.

“We urge folks in the Lowcountry, especially the Bluffton and Hilton Head Island areas, to stay vigilant and report any suspicious nests or hornets to us immediately. That is our best shot at controlling this potentially devastating pest,” said Steven Long, assistant director of the Clemson Department of Plant Industry.

Anyone who finds a suspected nest should report their findings to www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/plant-industry/invasive/ylh.html , and include photos. The nest should be left undisturbed so that it can be properly disposed of by field inspectors.