The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is not native to the UK and is REPORTABLE (*). It was accidentally introduced to the south of France in 2004 and has quickly worked its way up towards The Channel. The first Asian hornet nest in the UK was found and destroyed in 2016, since when there have been isolated incidents.
The first Asian hornet nests in Hampshire were found in September 2018 along with nests in other parts of the UK. Other Asian hornet nests are likely, and vigilance is absolutely essential. Once established, this species will be very hard to eradicate. It is an extremely aggressive predator and a colony of Asian hornets will decimate a colony of honeybees in a few hours. A single queen will establish a colony early in spring and will raise thousands of worker hornets and hundreds of young queens, which will come through winter and start their own colonies.
(*) ‘REPORTABLE’ means that, by law, you must report any sighting to the appropriate authority (the Non-Native Species Secretariat, NNSS):
- by using the Android or iPhone app which can be downloaded from the National Bee Unit web page, or
- by using their online sighting form, or
- by email to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk
The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina)
The Asian hornet worker is up to 25mm long (slightly shorter than the European hornet), has dark legs with yellow tips, a dark thorax and a dark abdomen that has an orange/yellow band at the end. Its head is dark from above, orange from front. It is completely silent in flight. It is never active at night.
European hornet (Vespa crabro)
The European hornet is native to the UK and is not a threat. The worker is up to 30mm long with brown legs. It has a black thorax with extensive brown markings, and a yellow abdomen with brown markings on the upper side, not banded. Its head is yellow from above an from the side. it buzzes loudly in flight. The European hornet sometimes flies after dark.
If you are a beekeeper, try to allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes when you visit your bees. Just stand or sit and watch the hive entrances because the Asian hornets’ hawking behaviour is instantly recognisable.
A useful identification chart can be found at the National Bee Unit website, from which these images were taken.
ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD YOU APPROACH OR ATTEMPT TO REMOVE AN ASIAN HORNET NEST. This insect has a highly potent 8mm sting that is not barbed, so she can and will sting repeatedly and the pheromones released will summon her nest-mates to join the attack. Report your sighting using the advice above.
You should also bear in mind, if you use a monitoring trap, that it is illegal to release a trapped Asian hornet. Simply take a photo and report it as above, then put it in a freezer so that it can be examined by authorised experts.