Asian Hornets

While Norman, Brian and I were walking around Hickling last week, we came upon another visitor who was staring intently along a dyke. From a distance, I asked him what he was looking for: he replied that he was hoping to photograph an Asian Hornet that he'd seen there yesterday...

Now for two years Linda has kept me informed about the possible spread of this species into the UK: as a beekeeper, she is well aware that these predators are a potential danger to our native honey bees. Naturally, therefore, I was concerned, telling the guy that the insect should be reported to this e-mail address. He said he'd already reported it to 'the authorities'.

Asking for more details, I was surprised to hear that he hadn't realised how big our - generally harmless - native Hornets are: they are, in fact, larger than the potentially invasive Asian form. I realised quite quickly that it was one of these that he had seen. I gave him my e-mail address and invited him to contact me for more details, but so far he hasn't.

Just for general information and clarity, I attach photos of a real Asian Hornet (in an acrylic block!) as well as a data card from a beekeeping organisation and a photo of a native Hornet in our garden. The key features to look for are the yellow legs.