1st October 2019

The Asian Hornet at Highcliffe in Christchurch in Dorset was reported and confirmed today(1 Oct). Experts from the National Bee Unit (NBU) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will work quickly to find and destroy any active nests in the area.

Dorset Asian Hornet Action Teams have confirmed that they are on their way to help with the search and all local beekeepers registered with Beebase will be asked to go out looking for Asian Hornets at local forage sites. 

The hornet in Dorset follows 3 earlier confirmed sightings south west of Ashford in Kent on 9 September 2019 and the Tamworth area of Staffordshire on 2 September 2019, where a nest was subsequently located and destroyed, and an earlier sighting of a single hornet was confirmed at New Milton in Hampshire. 

All the hornets were found and reported by members of the public. The member of the public recognised the insect near Christchurch as an Asian Hornet after seeing an alert poster that the National Bee Unit had placed in a Nursery/Garden Centre earlier in the year.

Alert poster for Vespa velutina (Asian hornet) 

One of the Asian Hornet hunters on the island of Jersey, John de Carteret, commented: "The power of the public! Public awareness is crucial in the fight against the Asian Hornet" 

In 2018 55 nests were removed from the Channel Island, but so far this year 65 have been removed with another five possible sightings. 

-ends- 

Asian hornet picture: David Walker