In 2023, America's first live yellow-legged hornet, a bee-killing predator, was found in Georgia; by 2026, officials had trapped 866 and destroyed 44 nests

State agriculture teams in Georgia have trapped at least 866 invasive yellow-legged hornets and destroyed 44 active nests so far this year, according to official data released by the Georgia Department of Agriculture .

The figures, listed on the state's public yellow-legged hornet eradication dashboard, show the latest progress in an intensive control campaign that began after the first live specimen of the bee-killing insect was confirmed in Georgia in 2023.