05-08-2025
Ministers told to ‘get a grip' on Asian hornets
Ministers have been urged to 'get a grip' on the threat of Asian hornets in Britain as the number of sightings has surged by at least 150 per cent in a year.
The population of Asian hornets, also known as yellow-legged hornets, in the UK has soared since they first arrived in 2016.
One nest of the apex predators can kill 11 kilograms' worth of insects in a single year, and they pose a particular threat to Britain's bee populations as well as to food production.
Experts have warned that this year could be the worst ever for Asian hornets in the UK, and authorities must take advantage of the 'window of opportunity' before they become fully established.
The National Bee Unit, part of the Government's Animal & Plant Health Agency, has said that there had been 73 credible sightings in the UK to the end of July.
This is up from 28 over the same period last year, an increase of more than 160 per cent.
The organisation has also found 28 nests so far this year. One nest can be home to up to 3,000 Asian hornets.
Ian Campell, of the British Beekeepers Association, told The Telegraph that this year appeared to be a 'surge year' for yellow-legged hornets, in part because of the weather.
'There is significant worry that this year is going to be ahead of 2023, which is the worst year we've had so far,' he warned.
He said that the authorities must act as Britain was 'in a window of opportunity' to eradicate the species before it became fully established.
'The only way we're going to beat this and eradicate it is if every nest gets reported and every nest gets eradicated,' he said. 'They're not getting every nest each year at the moment'.
The invasive species is mostly found in Kent and East Sussex. Experts say that they mostly come into the country via trucks and other vehicles.
But they are also known to be able to fly across the Channel if backed by strong winds.
Each nest can produce over 350 queens, which can go on to start new colonies the following year if they survive the winter.
It has emerged that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has only one staff member on call at any one time to destroy hornet nests, on a rota system.
The department said that it can pool additional resources when required.
Demands for task force
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.'
The insects were first discovered in Britain in 2016, having crossed over from Europe. It is thought they entered Europe after an Asian hornet queen was accidentally imported from China.
Between 2016 and 2022 there were 23 confirmed sightings in the UK, including 13 nests, a number dwarfed by figures in recent years.
Mr Campbell said that the surge represented significant risks to biodiversity, domestic food production and public health.
He pointed to a case last month where a 67-year-old man in France died after being stung while mowing the lawn and a nest fell from a tree and onto the ground beside him.
While a single hornet is unlikely to cause injury if left alone, they can become very aggressive if their nests are disturbed.
The insects can also cause significant damage to certain crops, with Mr Campbell warning this could have a knock-on impact on food production.
'In Kent and surrounding counties there is a huge amount of fruit production and vineyards. The hornets will damage the fruit and that will have an impact on those businesses.'
Laboratory-confirmed sightings of Asian hornets in 2025 are up to 37 so far, compared to 21 the previous year.
The number of individual Asian hornets or nests officially spotted this year is only three fewer than the overall number in 2024.
A spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Agency said: 'Our highly skilled staff work 24/7 to tackle the threat of invasive non-native species, which cost the economy nearly £2bn a year.
'The yellow-legged hornet response, as with other outbreaks, is managed through a roster of trained nest destructors and inspectors that is scaled up as required based on reports and seasonal fluctuations.'
They added that it was not 'unexpected to see more reports of sightings' due to increasing public awareness of the insects.
