A yellow-legged hornet nest has been spotted in York County, South Carolina. It's the first nest of this invasive species to have ever been found outside the Lowcountry, with the first state sighting happening back in November 2023, in Jasper County.
The yellow-legged hornet (also known as the Asian hornet or Vespa velutina) was first spotted in the US in Georgia in August 2023, suspected to have arrived on cargo ships. This latest sighting is the furthest north Asian hornets have been spotted in the US to date, now threatening to spread to North Carolina.
