With reductions in wildflower meadows and increased urbanisation, there are now just 270,000 active bee hives in the UK compared with around 1,000,000 hives in 1900. Now these important insects are under a new threat.
Asian hornets (Vespa Velutina) arrived in France in 2004 and have since spread across large areas of Western Europe. It was discovered for the first time in the British Isles in Jersey and Alderney.
The Asian hornet is thought to have been unknowingly transported in cargo and is now widespread in parts of France, Spain, the Channel Islands and Portugal. They are new to Britain, only being spotted here for the first time in the small town of Tetbury, in Gloucestershire in 2016. Since then, the insect has also been spotted in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. There have been 17 confirmed sightings in total in the UK since 2016 and nine nests have been destroyed.
While Asian hornets pose no greater risk to human health than a bee, they are a threat to our native honey bees, which is why it is important to quickly contain them. Asian hornets are known to kill up to 50 bees a day and other pollinating insects, making them a potential threat to bee colonies and ecosystems. The hornets raid honeybee hives by sitting outside them and capturing workers as they go in and out. They chop them up and feed the thorax to their young.
Asian hornets (Vespa Velutina) arrived in France in 2004 and have since spread across large areas of Western Europe. It was discovered for the first time in the British Isles in Jersey and Alderney.
The Asian hornet is thought to have been unknowingly transported in cargo and is now widespread in parts of France, Spain, the Channel Islands and Portugal. They are new to Britain, only being spotted here for the first time in the small town of Tetbury, in Gloucestershire in 2016. Since then, the insect has also been spotted in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. There have been 17 confirmed sightings in total in the UK since 2016 and nine nests have been destroyed.
While Asian hornets pose no greater risk to human health than a bee, they are a threat to our native honey bees, which is why it is important to quickly contain them. Asian hornets are known to kill up to 50 bees a day and other pollinating insects, making them a potential threat to bee colonies and ecosystems. The hornets raid honeybee hives by sitting outside them and capturing workers as they go in and out. They chop them up and feed the thorax to their young.
Asian hornets have characteristic yellow legs, orange face and a black body except for yellow bands on its abdominal segment.
The ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app is available to download from the Apple and Android app stores.
You can also report sightings by email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.
Please include information on location, date and number of Asian hornets you have seen. Please also include a photo if you can to help our experts identify the insect.
Alternatively, you can fill out an online report form.
If you find a nest, don’t try to remove it yourself! – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.
See more at:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-asian-hornets-are-bad-news-for-british-bees.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-52896891/asian-hornet-uk-beekeepers-on-lookout-for-bee-eater
Alternatively, you can fill out an online report form.
If you find a nest, don’t try to remove it yourself! – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.
See more at:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-asian-hornets-are-bad-news-for-british-bees.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-52896891/asian-hornet-uk-beekeepers-on-lookout-for-bee-eater