Bee aware: invading Asian hornet numbers could soar after dry spring

They have bright yellow legs, are about 25mm (almost lin) long, and a single colony, if left unchecked, can "butcher" 90,000 pollinating insects in just one season.

- Donna Ferguson

Since the first UK sighting in 2016 of Vespa velutina — the Asian or yellow-legged hornet - beekeepers and scientists have waged a vigorous campaign to minimise the damage this invasive species can do to Britain's biodiversity and bee colonies.

Last year, a wet spring and washout summer appeared to have hindered the insect's population growth as the number of nests spotted in the UK dropped from 72 in 2023 to 24 in 2024. But it was also the first year that the National Bee Unit received confirmation, via DNA, that the hornets had successfully bred and over-wintered in the UK.

Now experts fear the dry, sunny start to spring this year and the rapid spread of the species in Europe will lead to a surge in this year's numbers. "Unprecedented" early sightings of Asian hornets have been recorded in Jersey, leading experts to suspect that record numbers could try to establish nests in the UK this year.

"The first queens were more than two weeks early this year," said John De Carteret, a founding member of the Jersey Asian Hornet Group, which has about 550 traps in place this year. "We're obviously concerned."

There were 262 queen Asian hornets recorded on Jersey by 11 April, a year-on-year increase of 1,090%.

Ian Campbell, of the British Beekeepers Association, said: "There's a strong risk of this year's numbers being at least as high as in 2023 and the potential to be even higher. It would be a surprise if numbers were not above the 2024 level."