LHS Member Robert Jackman reports
Well, first of all it has been renamed as the “Yellow Legged Asian Hornet”. That’s for clarity as there are seven hornets in Asia. Fortunately only that one has arrived in Europe.
In 2023 you may remember a lot of fuss about it arriving in the UK in numbers. The spring was good and the winds were often blowing in our direction across the Channel. Mostly it was getting to our southern costal areas (Kent and Sussex). But it travels well (expanding its base by 80km per year according to French experience), so it was unsurprising that it was approaching us fast. Nests were destroyed in Thamesmead, Hackney and Oxted, near Westerham. In all, 75 nests were destroyed in 2023. The National
Bee Unit had been working hard, as were beekeepers near the coast and of course the general public.
Nature bides its time
Then things went quiet in 2024, which is why you might have assumed that it had all gone away. But nature bides its time.
I saw my first flowering head of purple sprouting broccoli in late February this year. Good news on one level. But alarm bells were also ringing in my head. Conditions which are good for broccoli will also favour Asian Hornet queens. More will survive the winter and then establish nests at an early stage. Which is why I am asking you to be even more vigilant for sightings than you might have been in the past. The French were not vigilant, and have now been overrun.
A danger to humans and any pollinating insect
Asian hornets are a personal danger to gardeners, allotment holders and dog walkers particularly. Individually they will leave you alone if you leave them alone. But approach a nest and they get ultra defensive. As nests are often not clearly visible, big problems can arise inadvertently. The French know this to their cost. There have been fatalities. That covers the immediate human cost. Asian hornets are also huge consumers of any pollinating insect. Anything with flight muscles. So this is of far wider concern than to beekeepers alone, a common misconception.
Currently Asian Hornets are not known to be in our area. But that could change fast. Nest populations can build to ten thousand and those numbers are possibly reached in late summer, remaining through early autumn. Nests will only die with the first hard frosts, leaving new queens attempting to survive till the next season.
Report evidence
If you see an Asian Hornet, try to capture an image on your phone (assuming that you have one), and send it to the Asian Hornet Watch app, which can be downloaded onto your phone. There are plenty of false sightings. European hornets often get confused with the Asian cousins, so the National Bee Unit will only respond to positive sightings that arrive with clear evidence.
But foremost, be careful. These non-native insects can be dangerous.