Record sightings of Asian hornets are raising fears of catastrophic consequences for the UK’s bee populations for years to come.
The invasive hornets are wreaking havoc in mainland Europe and threaten to get a foothold in the UK, with nests found in East Sussex, Kent, Devon and Dorset.
The insects feed on native bees and wasps, damaging biodiversity.
The warning comes as leading scientists release a global report into the threats caused by invasive species.
They say the alien invaders play a role in 60% of animal and plant extinctions.
And the economic costs have risen to more than £300bn ($380bn) a year across the world.
Alien species are living things transported around the world by humans into places they wouldn’t naturally be, from Japanese knotweed to the fungus that kills ash trees.
They are one of the five major drivers of biodiversity loss – and the problem is expected to get worse.
The report found:
- Invasive species are a major threat to nature, food security and human health
- Invasive alien species contribute to 60% of global extinctions
- Economic costs are quadrupling every decade, reaching $423 billion (£336 billion) in 2019
- There are solutions, such as border and import controls.
The Asian hornet is an example of an alien species at risk of gaining a permanent foothold in the UK.
In Folkestone, Kent, one of the hotspots for Asian hornets, bee keeper Simon Spratley is counting the costs to his bees.
He says the bee-munching predators are causing devastation, with 10 of 17 hives lost in quick succession.
“These insects are going to settle here and they’re going to predate on all insects especially the honey bee – that’s their natural food source,” he warns.
“They’ll end up destroying or over complicating bee keeping for everybody and reducing the [bio] diversity in the Kent area and the whole wider England.”
When we visited his apiary we saw several Asian hornets that had been captured that day.
And 20 miles north, near Ashford, we met a team of experts from the National Bee Unit, a branch of the Animal and Plant Health Agency tasked with dealing with the problem.
They were trying to locate and destroy a hornet’s nest after a positive identification nearby.
This is the time of the year when you are most likely to spot an Asian hornet, perhaps in your garden feeding on fruit, says bee inspector, Peter Davies.
“Please take a picture, go on the Asian hornet app, have a look – compare it and please report it,” he says.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66697968