Asian Hornet
The Scottish Government has confirmed that a single Asian Hornet was found in March at a retail warehouse in the central belt of Scotland.
Traps have been set and the pest control industry and beekeepers have been advised to be alert. All club apiaries in Scotland are being sent official traps to catch Asian Hornets.
The Asian hornet is smaller than our native hornet and poses no greater risk to human health than a bee. However, they do pose a risk to honey bees.
The first Asian hornet confirmed in the UK was discovered in the Tetbury area in October last year. A nest in the area was found and destroyed. No further live Asian hornets have been sighted in the area since the nest was removed.
The Asian hornet arrived in France in 2004 and is now common across large areas of Europe. It was discovered for the first time in Jersey and Alderney last summer.
A very instructive YouTube clip on the Asian Hornet was posted by Stuart of the Norfolk Honey Company here:
Stewart refers in the video to two vital Defra resources
The NNSS Alert is
[gview file=”https://www.iombeekeepers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Alert_poster_Vespa_velutina_v1.5.pdf” save=”1″]
There are now many posts on the web and YouTube about this pest, perhaps one of the more informative from France is this from Wildlife in France.
