The Yellow Legged Hornets represent a major threat to our native pollinators.
You can help protect them by taking time to observe insects feeding on fruit/fallen fruit and flowering ivy before the end of the season.
In 2024 the National Bee Unit (NBU) located a total of 24 nests, mostly in south-east England but some as far north as North Yorkshire. We encourage beekeepers across England and Wales to take time to observe foraging insects in their areas. This year, the NBU has located and destroyed 17 yellow-legged hornet nests. Credible reports increase after media coverage, for example two suspect nests were found following coverage on the BBC. Your sightings can make the difference between a nest being discovered or being unreported.
The yellow-legged hornet is smaller than the native European hornet, and it has a dark velvety thorax, and a dark abdomen with a distinctive yellow band on the fourth segment. If you think you have seen yellow-legged hornet, please report it using the free Asian Hornet Watch App, available for Android and iPhone, on the online notification form ( LINK https://risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet ) or by emailing alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk. A photograph and the location of the sighting must be included for the National Bee Unit to respond. Please include your contact details so we can get in touch. For more information on how to report sightings, please visit our ‘So you think you’ve seen a yellow-legged hornet’ page.
Further information about the yellow-legged hornet and the work of the Non Native Species Secretariat can be found here: https://www.nonnativespecies.org/non-native-species/information-portal/view/3826#
The latest Asian Hornet sightings can be seen here.
Asian Hornet 2024 Rolling update » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase