THE ASIAN HORNET
I am lucky enough to be a member of a group called BRAAG (the Borough of Richmond Allotment Action Group) and occasionally we have someone come and speak to us about specific, allotment-relevant subjects. A couple of weeks ago a man from the Twickenham and Thames Valley Bee-Keepers Association came to ask us to help raise awareness of the ASIAN HORNET threat in the area.
Why are Asian Hornets a problem?
Asian Hornets are probematic for two main reasons. Firstly they are pretty ferrocous and will attack people if disturbed. Although not aggressive under normal conditions, if under percieved threat they will charge en masse.
But the biggest threat they pose is to Honey Bees. Asian Hornets predate Honey Bee colonies, setting up a possition above the apiary or hive and will hunt the bees returniong to the hive, until the colony is destroyed.
This is a double hit as by targetting the bees returning from foraging expedition they also starve out the hive. Each indevidual hornet will defend its hunting terratory until it makes a kill when it will fly off and be replaced by another instantly.
Where are they from and how far have they spread?
The Asian Hornet, as its name suggests is from Southeast Asia and is fully established across the region. It is particularly prolific in tropical regions – through northern India, and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Indo-Chinese peninsula.
But they are spreading. Initially showing up in southern France, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, and Japan but now Germany and most concerningly for me – the South of England. There were 19 sightings and 10 nests found in England between 2016 and 2020. And 60 confirmed destroyed nests between 2020 and 2023. They are spreading and FAST.
The closest they’ve been to me in South London was Thamesmead in August 2023. thats less than 20 miles away. And they have been seen across Kent, Devon, Cornwall, Hampshire, East Yorkshire, East Sussex, Essex. One was found as far north as Newcastle and another was found in Dublin in 2022.
What should you do if you think you see an Asian Hornet?
The Asian Hornet has been on the Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern list since 2016 and if you think you see one you should report it.
But the chap from the Twickenham and Thames Valley Bee-Keepers Association was cautious about this advice. One of the biggest problems they have is false reports of sightings. It is very important that if you can get close enough safely, you photograph the hornet. There are many different native and non-invasive species of hornet across the UK and at first glance can look pretty similar.
The poster that we were given to put up on our allotment notice boards is pictures here and as you can see there is a big section dedicated to identification!
Reporting a sighting.
To report a suspected sighting of an Asian Hornet you can use the app: ASIAN HORNET WATCH available for both iPhone and Android.
You can report it online at the UK Non-Native Species Alert site: HERE
Or by email to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk
