Latest news with #SophieGray
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
University researchers find Asian hornets' 'unique sound'
Researchers have identified the unique sound of Asian hornet nests and said it could be the key to finding and removing them.A team at the University of Southampton said they had established the frequency of the invasive insect species for the first believe it paves the way to faster detection and removal of their nests, as a surge in numbers is experienced this Sophie Gray said building a drone that could locate nests would be the next step. So far this year, there have been 37 confirmed sightings of Asian hornets, also called yellow-legged hornets, in the National Bee Unit has also reported 73 sightings and 28 nests in 2025 to date – more than double the 28 recorded sightings in the same period last researchers said that meant nests, which peak in numbers during September and October, could be detected and their sound used to distinguish them from the nests and hives of other wasps and project was led by Paul White, professor of statistical signal processing at the university, and project advisor Adrian fundamental frequency of the nests has been found to be 125 Hz, with a loudness in the region of 51 decibels, which is comparable to a normal conversation."The nest can be detected from about 20m away with a directional microphone," Ms Gray said. Asian hornets are not yet established in the UK and all discovered nests are destroyed. "They first came to England through Kent in 2016 and in the last two to three years have begun to establish themselves here," Ms Gray said."They can be underground, or 50 feet up a tree, or in a bird box, or a bush – they can be anywhere."She added that by the time a sighting was reported "the hornets can have completely killed a beehive of upwards of 20,000 bees".Sightings of an Asian hornet should be reported to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Science
- Telegraph
New hope for honeybees following breakthrough in tracking predators
Giant Asian hornets kill British honeybees and destroy entire hives in hours - but scientists now have a new weapon in the fight against the destructive insects. The sound the predatory hornets make is lower in tone than that of native honeybees and this could speed up the discovery, identification, and destruction of nests before they can wipe out nearby colonies. Asian hornets eat honeybees and can eviscerate a beehive in just two days. The non-native bug with yellow legs is twice the size of a normal bee. They are increasingly being found in the UK, with twice as many sightings so far in 2025 as in the same period for 2024. Officials ask members of the public who see an Asian hornet nest to report it to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), who will destroy it if confirmed. Scientists from the University of Southampton conducted the first analysis of the sound the hornets make and found they have a lower tone than the buzz of honeybees. The work has been presented at conferences and is in the process of publication in a scientific journal. There is about an octave of difference between the two pitches of the flying insects analysis found, with English honeybees at 210Hz and the Asian hornets humming at 125Hz. 'Asian hornet nests can be difficult to find because there is no typical place where they build them,' said Sophie Gray, co-author of the research. 'They can be underground, or 50 feet up a tree, or in a bird box, or a bush – they can be anywhere. 'It typically takes two to three days to find the nest once a sighting of an Asian hornet is reported – and in that time the hornets can have completely killed a beehive of upwards of 20,000 bees.' She added: 'We believe that the acoustic signature of Asian hornet nests can be used to locate and destroy the nests. 'Importantly, we believe this detection can be done from a safe distance as we have found that Asian hornets become highly aggressive within 10 metres of the nest, which is difficult since the nests are often well camouflaged despite their size.' The Asian hornet arrived in Europe in 2004 and is now established in France and other countries, and was first seen in Britain in 2016. This year is on track to be a record high for Asian hornet sightings with 37 confirmed sightings already. Experts urged officials to take advantage of the 'window of opportunity' before they become fully established. The Liberal Democrats have accused the Government of not taking the issue sufficiently seriously and demanded Defra set up a task force to deal with the problem. Martin Wrigley, the MP for Newton Abbot, said: 'The previous Conservative government was asleep at the wheel in their response to Asian hornets so the government has got to wake up to the risks and get a grip on this invasive species now – especially ahead of August and September, when new females are born. 'We urgently need a fully fleshed task force dedicated to this invasive insect to reduce delays between reporting nests and their destruction. It's time this Government took our biodiversity and the safety of our communities seriously.'
