The UK’s chief plant health officer, Nicola Spence, has urged beekeepers and the general public to report sightings of the hornet after a record number were discovered in the country last year.
Asian hornets offer no greater hazard to human health than native hornets, but they endanger honey bees and insect pollinators.
In March, Paul Hetherington, head of communications and engagement at the Buglife organization, warned that the insects may eat up to 50 honeybees every day and are probably certainly “breeding and living in the UK.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) stated that the species is not yet made.
