Yellow-legged hornet queen captured in South Carolina

Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry is renewing a call for Lowcountry residents to report large hornets and hornet nests.  Officials captured a yellow-legged hornet queen in Jasper County, about three miles from South Carolina’s border with Georgia.  “The fact that we captured a queen is significant. It means that we have prevented a yellow-legged hornet nest from establishing in South Carolina.  Georgia has been battling these insects and continues to capture them in the Savannah area, and we will continue to monitor our traps,” said Steven Long, assistant director of the plant industry department.  The particular hornet is native to Southeast Asia and has established itself in most of Europe and area of the Middle East.