The Threat of Asian Hornets

You've almost certainly heard about the threat of the Asian Hornet, often referred to by the more descriptive name of Yellow Legged Hornet.

This is an invasive species of hornet, which has slowly worked it's way across mainland Europe, and has now arrived in the UK. This year (2025) there have been many sightings in the south east of England. Which means next year we will have them to deal with in most of the UK!

What's so bad about them?

There are a number of problems for all of us, but most specifically for bees (and therefore beekeepers!)

They are apex predators - in the UK there is nothing that hunts or kills them. So they are pretty much free to expand without control

They are particularly aggressive protecting their nests - like any hornet. But their sting is quite serious. They are also known to nest reasonably low. So in theory you could walk right past their nest in a hedge ... and suffer for it!

Their favourite meal is the honey bee. A single hornet can kill up to 50 bees per day. So hundreds of them can kill a hive in a few days.

How do they operate?

Their modus operandi is to 'hawk' outside the beehive. Bees leaving the hive and light and agile, and leave the hive very positively in the direction they're going. But when they come home, they 'meander' back to the hive as they home in on it. They're also laden with nectar / pollen / water, and usually tired. This makes them easy pickings for the hornet!

The hornets want the body of the bee to take home to the nest to feed their brood. So they snip the bee's head and thorax off, and take the rest away. As a beekeeper, the sign a hive has been killed by hornets is when you find a little pile of bee heads outside the hive - quite horrible really!