They’re designed to protect beekeepers from venomous stings, but it seems that beekeeping suits are no match when it comes to ‘ murder hornets ’.
The hornets, otherwise known as Asian giant hornets, have enormous stingers that can easily penetrate most beekeeping suits, according to experts from Washington State University (WSU).
Worryingly, a single sting can deliver nearly seven times the amount of venom as a honey bee, while the Asian hornets are known to sting multiple times.
Todd Murray, an invasive species specialist at WSU, explained: “It’s a shockingly large hornet. It’s a health hazard, and more importantly, a significant predator of honey bees.”
Asian hornets are not native to the UK, but several nests have been discovered in the past.
According to the UK government, the latest case of Asian hornets in the UK was confirmed near Christchurch, Dorset on 1 October 2019, with previous sightings in Kent (September 2019), Staffordshire (September 2019) and Hampshire (early 2019).
It explained: “Since 2016, there have been a total of 17 confirmed sightings of the Asian hornet in England and nine nests have been destroyed.”
The insects have a number of distinctive features that make it fairly easy to distinguish them from bees or wasps.
This includes a dark brown or black velvety body, a yellow or orange band on the fourth segment of their abdomen and yellow-tipped legs.
If you spot what you think is a murder hornet, do not try to remove the nest yourself.
The UK government website advises: “If you find a nest, don’t try to remove it yourself – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.”
Instead, you should report this using the ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app:
Asian Hornet Watch app for iPhone
Asian Hornet Watch app for android
You can also report sightings by email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.
The UK government website added: "Please include information on location, date and number of Asian hornets you have seen. Please also include a photo if you can to help our experts identify the insect."
