Giant Asian hornet invasion heading to UK is significantly bigger this year
Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.uk
There are fears that the UK is about to experience a huge invasion of hornets.
The man challenged with tackling the spread of the bugs has said there has been a dramatic increase compared to last year.
Alistair Christie has counted 80 Asian hornet queens in Jersey – at the same time last year there were just four.
The invasive predators are a threat to UK wildlife because they can eat up to 50 honey bees in a single day, adversely affecting pollination.
Mr Christie, Jersey’s hornet co-ordinator, said: ‘A lot of people are on high alert, which means the amount of reports is much higher than last year.
‘So far we have had a total of 203 reported sightings of Asian hornets and of those, just 80 turned out to be a hornet – the rest were just wasps, bees and other pollinating insects.
‘But while the increased amount of sightings is partly down to people being more aware, it is also undoubtedly due to the fact that there are more of them on the Island this year.’
So far he says 13 nests containing queen hornets have been destroyed.
Mr Christie has been battling Asian hornets for the last four years, working with Jersey’s Natural Environment Department.
His aim is to slow down the spread of the hornets which were accidentally introduced to France in 2004.
Since then they have spread across Europe, first arriving in the UK in 2016 with a nest being spotted in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. T
here are fears that the growing number of sightings on Jersey could mean there will be more on the mainland this year.
The sting from the Asian hornet is similar to that of the common bee and people with allergies must get medical attention if they are stung by one.
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Originally Posted by Teh One Who Knocks
