Beekeepers in the United Kingdom have been warned about a possible incursion of Asian hornets that have reportedly killed six people in France.
The highly aggressive hornets are believed to have originated from China but migrated to the French countryside on pot plants in 2004. They have devastated honey farms in the country ever since.
Experts fear that millions of these hornets could possibly make their way across the English Channel because of the warming weather in April.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has sent out emails to different beekeepers in the U.K. asking them to be on the look-out for these destructive insects. They urged locals not to approach hornet nests, which are typically found in trees or in sheds and garages.
If a hornet nest is found, the National Bee Unit will dispatch experts from the Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency to eliminate the insects and the nest through special chemicals.
According to Defra, there have been no reported sightings of Asian hornets in the United Kingdom so far.
How to Identify an Asian Hornet
The Asian hornet, or Vespa velutina, can easily be spotted because of its black head and orange-yellow face compared to the copper-colored head and bright-yellow face of the native European hornet. The Vespa velutina also has bright yellow tips on its legs, while its European counterpart has reddish-brown legs
Despite the six people in France reported to have died of anaphylactic shock due to Asian hornet stings, experts say the Vespa velutina is not considered to be particularly deadly.
"For most people, it hurts when you're stung, throbs for a few hours and then dies down," Dr. Gavin Broad, curator of the Natural History Museum's Hymenoptera collection, said.
"Hornets do inject venom, however, so it you're allergic to wasp stings, your reaction would probably be similar and likewise treatable with antihistamine."
Threat to Local Bee Colonies
While the Asian hornets do not pose an imminent danger to people, they have been known to cause damage to other bee colonies.
The Norfolk Beekeepers' Association, together with the National Bee Unit, has scheduled its Bee Health Seminar at the Easton and Otley College on May 23 to help inform bee-keepers about Asian hornets.
Carolyne Liston, chairman of the Norfolk Beekeepers' Association, warned about the nature of the Asian hornets.
"They can absolutely decimate colonies and we are concerned that it is going to come in on someone's caravan who has been travelling in France," says Liston.
Asian hornets usually hover in front of beehives in order to kill off honeybees one by one. They decapitate their unsuspecting victims and strip off their legs and wings before taking their bodies to younger hornets as food.
Honeybees in Asia were able to develop an effective defense system against these invasive hornets. They kill individual hornets by encircling it and flapping their wings until the intruder overheats and dies.
French bees, however, were not able to create a similar defense tactic.
Photo: Danel Solabarrieta | Flickr
