Asian hornets theory explains how major threat to UK bees got here

Asian hornets are feared for invading environments and killing honeybees, threatening honey production in the UK and beyond.

Four months ago, Italian MEPs called on the European Commission to take firm action towards controlling populations of the yellow-legged Asian hornets that arrived in France over twenty years ago and have now spread across the continent. There was a sharp rise in sightings of the small beasts in the UK. slightly small yet more aggressive than their European counterparts, Asian hornets can destroy multiple bee hives at once, killing their inhabitant Bees are vital in the process of honey production and in maintaining a healthy, balanced ecosystem.

MEP Salvatore De Meo called them "vicious predators", saying at the time: "Since 2004, this has caused a significant decline in the bee population in some EU countries. This phenomenon jeopardises traditional pollinators, especially the honeybees on which the production of high-quality Italian honey depends, and risks damaging our biodiversity."

Close up of Asian hornet

Native to south-east Asia and known as the Vespa velutina, the pests are believed to have first arrived in Europe via France, through the port of Bordeaux in a shipping container carrying pottery travelling from China. Costing the French economy an estimated €30.8 million a year, they soon spread to neighbouring Italy, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Portugal and of course, the UK.

Now, scientists here have confirmed using DNA testing that the species have survived winter for the first time ever, suggesting that they could make the UK one of their permanent homes. The insects, which can eat up to 50 bees a day, live in nests that are able to produce up to 350 queens each. Even though 90% of these die during the winter, every queen that does survive can seed an entire colony of hornets. The British Beekeepers Association announced they are trying to locate more Asian hornet's nests before new queens are produced.

"We are worried,” said Michele Meridio, the president of the beekeepers’ association in Veneto. He pointed out the difference between Asian hornets and the oriental hornet, or Vespa orientalis, which is blighting areas of Italy’s south, declaring them as even more dangerous. He said: "An oriental hornet might attack a single beehive, whereas an Asian hornet attacks several beehives at the same time. They kill bees at such an incredible speed – dismembering them and bringing the remains back to their own nests to feed their young – that the bees no longer leave their hives."

Members of the British public are being urged to report sightings of the Asian hornet via the Asian Hornet Watch app to help experts keep tabs on their numbers and help control populations. Distinct from European hornets that have yellow bellies and reddish dark-coloured legs, they have orange heads when viewed from the front, and their abdomens are predominantly dark with fine yellow stripes and a yellow or orange fourth segment near the base. Additionally, their legs feature yellow tips.