Asian hornet sightings spark persecution of European species in UK

Cases occurred after confirmed reports of invasive species feared as threat to honeybee

Steven Morris

Wed 3 Oct 2018 12.16 BSTLast modified on Thu 4 Oct 2018 10.07 BST

A British wildlife charity has warned that a spate of bad news stories about the invasive Asian hornet is leading to the persecution of its home-grown equivalent.

Devon Wildlife Trust said it has come across cases of people exterminating the European hornet (Vespa crabro) thinking it was the troublesome Asian hornet (Vespa velutina).

Asian hornets are devastating to honeybees, with the insects raiding and destroying colonies. There is growing fear among British beekeepers that the presence of Asian hornets threatens the future of the honeybee.

Confirmed reports of Asian hornet nests in Devon and Cornwall have fuelled concerns. But the trust believes that fears over the arrival of the Asian hornet are leading to the misguided persecution of the native European hornet.

Its spokesman, Steve Hussey, said: “We’ve had several people telling us that they think they have an Asian hornet nest on their property and asking can they destroy it? Other people have told us that they have already gone ahead and destroyed nests, suspecting them of belonging to Asian hornets, but where we’ve been able to do further investigation all the cases have proved to be European hornets and not the invasive species.

“This is really unfortunate. European hornets are a beautiful and vital part of our environment. They also help us by helping to keep in check many insect species that gardeners consider to be pests.”

Continued