What is the Problem?
Yellow-legged Asian hornets prey on honeybee colonies. They hover outside a hive entrance, waiting for returning foragers. When they catch a returning bee, they will take it away and feed off of the protein rich thorax; the animal proteins are transformed into flesh pellets and then offered to the larvae.
They can cause significant losses to honeybee colonies, and potentially other native species.
What do they look like?
The Yellow-legged Asian hornet is slightly smaller than our native European hornet. It's abdomen is mostly black except for it's fourth abdominal segment which is a yellow band located towards the rear. It has yellow legs and it's face is orange with brownish red eyes.
Click here for a comparison with our native European Hornet
What should I do if I see one?
- Notify the Great British Non Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) immediately.
- Online form: Online notification form
- Email address: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk
- App: Asian Hornet Watch
and locally
- Notify your local Asian Hornet Action Team (AHAT)
- Here in the East Sussex High Weald you should contact Peter Coxon
- Email address: the.hwbka+ahat@gmail.com
What can I do to stop them?
- Spread the word - download poster
- Report sightings - as above
- Make and use Asian Hornet traps - view video
Further Information
- NBU - Asian Hornet page
- NBU - ID sheet
- NBU - Poster
- NNSS - Asian Hornet page
- Hymettus - Asian Hornet information sheet
- Asian Hornet Sightings
- Map of confirmed sightings
- BBKA Asian Hornet resources
- WhatsApp AH group link
- WhatsApp mobile phone QR code
- Andrew Durham's YouTube - Part 1
- Andrew Durham's YouTube - Part 2
- BBKA resources