Lincolnshire beekeepers suit up to fight invasive Asian hornets

Lincolnshire Bee Keepers Association (LBKA) is calling upon Lincolnshire residents to be vigilant and look out for Asian Hornets and nests this Asian Hornet Awareness Week - which runs from Monday September 2.

With over 70 nests discovered last summer, the association is taking proactive measures to future proof the county against the threat from this destructive invasive predator.

A team of four volunteers are heading over to the Channel Islands in mid-September to work with the Jersey Asian Hornet Action Team, who have been mounting an extensive fight against the Yellow Legged Asian Hornet for eight or nine years to learn firsthand the methods of fighting this devastating predator.

LBKA predicts that it is inevitable these invasive predators will reach Lincolnshire at some point and Stewart Maher, Lincolnshire’s Asian Hornet Coordinator said: “The experience gained by the volunteers in Jersey will be invaluable and will help us protect the county’s bees and the public from the Asian Yellow Legged Hornet.”

The group this year comprises members from Sleaford, Boston, Stamford and North Lincolnshire with a further party of four planned for 2025 representing Lincoln, Grantham, Horncastle and Louth, meaning all corners of the county will be protected.

Peter Verdigaal from Boston District said: “The Asian Hornet is an ecological disaster. The past few years have been a ticking time bomb for bees, with climate change, intensive farming and the decrease in flora and fauna all adding up - but it is beyond devastating that we saw the numbers of Asian Hornet nests increase dramatically in Britain last year. This is an invasive species; our bees do not have any defences against them - but we at LBKA are taking steps to protect them. We can be their defence.”

The LBKA warns that Asian Hornets are an incredibly destructive invasive species and specialise in preying on honeybee hives as well as other vital pollinators. The hornets ‘hawk’ the front of target bee hives, killing honeybees and feeding them to their young. One Asian Hornet alone can kill 60-90 honey bees per day, and dozens of them will ‘hawk’ a hive simultaneously decimating the bees, meaning it can be destroyed or irreparably weakened to the extent it cannot survive.

Now, unbelievably from only one Yellow Legged Asian Hornet nest 20 years ago there are now over half a million nests annually in France alone.

Stewart added: “This is a perilous situation for honeybees and other insect life in Lincolnshire. That’s why we are calling on everyone in the county to be vigilant, be aware of and report Asian Hornet sightings by taking a photo and using the Asian Hornet watch app on your iPhone. We are now extremely concerned that they will spread throughout the UK and Lincolnshire, and if they do it’s vital to eliminate them before they can establish themselves further.”

You can identify an Asian Hornet by its very distinct markings – yellow lower legs and a largely black body and twice the size of a common wasp .

If you think you see an Asian Hornet or nest, you can do one, or all, of the following:

-     Take a photo on your phone for identification and report it by email on the Asian Hornet Watch App

-     Report it on line to the National Bee Unit, or call 03003030094.

-     Each area’s Beekeepers Association has an Asian Hornet Coordinator who can advise or help with identification, which you can find by searching Asian Hornet Action Team Map on Google.

-     Download the Asian Hornet Watch app, available on iOS and Android.

Reporting a possible sighting of an Asian Hornet is quick, free, and easy and has the potential to make a huge difference in the fight against this invasive species.