Beekeepers in West Devon are asking the public to keep an eye open for the Asian Hornet because it kills and eats honey bees.
The alert for the invasive Asian Hornet comes as there have been sightings of the more common and native European Hornet in West Devon.
The European Hornet is similar in appearance, but is not feared by beekeepers for its potential to devastate honey bee populations and hives.
The European Hornet has been seen in Tavistock – it is similar in size to its Asian counterpart (about two to three cm long). The Asian Hornet has a black head and upper body with black feelers and its legs are half black and half yellow. The face is orange/yellow. Its main (lower) body or abdomen has mainly black stripes with one broad yellow band with a small triangle.
The European Hornet is slightly longer and has a gingery yellow head and upper body area. Its abdomen has much more yellow colouring and only one broad black band.
A spokesman for Tavistock Beekeepers Association said the European Hornet’s main diet are wasps!
The invading Asian Hornet’s main diet are honey bees. Although noisy and large, European Hornets are no more dangerous than a wasp or a bee to people, but people should not go near their nests. Both hornets eat all insects, from honeybees, solitary bees, butterflies and wasps, but the Asian Hornet is so much better at it.
“One of the most helpful things we can do to protect our bees is educate the public about the risk of invading Asian Hornets, It is important to protect native honey bees to report any sightings of Asia Hornets to Asian Hornet Watch.”
The ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app is available to download from the Apple and Android app store or report here: www.bit.ly/asianhornetreport For details on the appearance of an Asian hornet please can be found on Bee Base guide or the non-native species identification guide and at WWW.nonnativespecies.org
More information on British Beekeepers Association: WWW.bbka.org.uk
