SOMERSET Beekeepers’ Association (SBKA) has called on the public to fight a major threat to honey bees from Asian hornets.

Local beekeepers are concerned that these invasive predators will reach Somerset.

There have been a number of unconfirmed sightings in the county. 

To date around 51 nests have been discovered in the UK so far this year – more than three times the number found in the last six years combined.

Asian hornets have a large black wasp with yellow legs, an orange face, blackish brown body with a broad orangey yellow stripe towards the end of the abdomen.

Lynne Ingram, SBKA’s Asian hornet team coordinator, said: “Asian hornets are wreaking havoc in Europe and, if they get established in the UK, our honey bees and many other insects will be decimated here, too.”

At this time of the year Asian hornets can be spotted on flowering ivy, fallen fruit and catching honey bees outside their hives.

The hornets usually hover about a foot away from the entrance to a beehive.

Hornet sightings are filtered by the National Bee Unit (NBU) and teams of bee inspectors deployed to track hornets back to their nests which are then destroyed.

Beekeepers across the country are mobilising as part of elite teams trained to provide emergency support to the NBU’s hornet hunters.

A single Asian hornet queen arrived by accident in France from China in 2004 and the insect has spread rapidly across France and into many other European countries.

Many nests have been found in patches of brambles and in hedgerows.

There are fears that foragers enjoying the bumper blackberry crop and gardeners could inadvertently disturb a nest.

A single nest can contain up to 6,000 workers and 350 queens.

“Foragers and gardeners should check hedges carefully to avoid disturbing an Asian hornet nest,” Lynne added.

“Normally they don’t attack, but if you are near a nest, or disturb it, they can become extremely aggressive and dangerous.

“We must act to stop them getting established in this country.

“Now is a key time to discover and destroy any nests before they produce new queens, which will mate, go into hibernation, and produce new nests next year.

“We need the public to help protect honey bees and other pollinators from this voracious predator.”

Anyone who suspects they have seen an Asian hornet should report it immediately using the phone app ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ or the online reporting form: https://risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet.