Yellow-Legged Hornet
We’ve all seen hornets flying about, striking fear everywhere they go. And now there is a new variation of these insects to worry about: yellow-legged hornets. The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced earlier this month that a beekeeper in Savannah found what was eventually identified as one of the yellow-legged hornets, aka Asian hornets.
These insects destroy honeybee colonies. They’re originally from southeast Asia, and have since spread to most of Europe. The recent discovery in Georgia is the first detection of this hornet alive out in the wild in the U.S. according to Georgia officials. The last thing the U.S. honeybees need is a swarm of invasive hornets killing and eating them. Bees are important pollinators, food producers, and dozens of crops in the country rely on them.
If you’re in the region where these invasive insects were sighted and think you’ve seen one of these hornets, report it to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. And of course, squish them.
