Asian Hornet

David Crook
Posts: 37
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:42 am
Location: Buckfastleigh
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 45 times

Asian Hornet

Post by David Crook »

The Asian yellow-legged hornet is an invasive and potentially very destructive insect that has caused a huge number of honeybee hive losses across Europe, and last year around 87 nests were found and destroyed on Jersey. Nine nests were found and destroyed in England during 2019, but some may have gone unnoticed.

While about two thirds of its diet comprises honeybees, the other third is just about any insect from aphids to dragonflies, and includes all of our 26 species of bumblebees and most of the other 230 or so bee species, along with many other pollinators. Nests may contain 10,000 or more individuals and they are all hungry!

Please learn to distinguish this hornet from our native Vespa crabro, which is fairly common in Devon, but may be endangered in other areas. You can download a PDF that shows clear ID images here: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/download ... cfm?id=698

If you use Facebook, there is a good page called "Defending Britain Against the Asian Hornet, where updates are posted.

If you think you have seen an Asian hornet, please attempt to photograph it - they are not aggressive away from their nests and will not attempt to sting you unless roughly handled! If you can place an empty jar over it, so much the better.

The ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app is available to download free of charge from both the Apple and Android stores, which somewhat automates the process of reporting to the appropriate authority.

For more information on the hornet and a local bee swarm service, which will remain in operation on the grounds of animal welfare and public safety throughout the current lockdown, see http://www.southdevonbees.org