It was recently reported that non native hornets (aka 'asian hornets') have been sighted for the first time in the UK in Gloucestershire.

http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/several-asian-hornets-caught-by-beekeepers-since-shock-arrival-in-tetbury/story-29754487-detail/story.html

If you spot any, please report it (they will decimate our bees (further than the trouble our bees are in already (CCD, mites, etc)

This link from fera) has a good pic showing the difference between european (on the left) and non native hornets.

http://fera.co.uk/news/showNews.cfm?id=795

thanks

I have seen and taken pictures of weird mosquitos recently.

I will keep my eyes peeled for the Asian hornet...

WTF is going on???

Will they be killed off during the winter if it gets cold enough ?

Will they be killed off during the winter if it gets cold enough ?

Some species adapt to cold weather like the small parrots that have invaded Europe in the last 15 years

Will they be killed off during the winter if it gets cold enough ?

hopefully they reckon that at least they wldnt survive further up north.

but, as king suggests, will they adapt (like the asian ladybird has done abit (it was also thought that our cold wld see them off). though there didnt seem to be so many of them this year.)

I will keep my eyes peeled for the Asian hornet...

that fera link has some good further info links in it.

How about that....

'...an interesting solution is their Drone Spray Hornet which features a spray system used to destroy nests of Asian Hornets, an insect present over 2/3 of France....'

http://www.expouav.com/news/latest/dv-wing-drone-dedicated-precision-agriculture/

at least here, for now '...The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced that the outbreak of Asian hornets in Blighty has been safely contained....'

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/07/asian_hornet_outbreak_over/

'.....Members of the Jersey Beekeepers Association will shortly be issued with special insect traps from the Environment Department to protect their hives from Asian hornets, which were first spotted in the Island last summer.....' (hopefully the same/similar traps will be issued here...if not a 'drone' )

http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2017/01/07/beekeepers-on-front-line-in-fight-against-killer-hornets/

'Over sixty East Dorset Association Beekeepers met and planned their defence. They learned to identify the insect and then built monitoring traps which will catch spring queens of the invasive species and alert Defra to the threat....

Members of the public are asked to familiarise themselves with the Asian Hornet and report any sightings by posting on the Association's Facebook site facebook.com/EastDorsetBeekeepersAssociation or by email alertnonnative@ ceh.ac.uk'

http://www.blackmorevale.co.uk/east-dorset-beekeeping-group-on-war-footing-for-asian-hornet-invader/story-30216084-detail/story.html