Sting in the tail for killer Asian hornets

BEEKEEPERS are turning to technology to prevent aggressive Asian hornets destroying their colonies.

In a first successful trial, experts at the University of Exeter attached tracking devices to the backs of the voracious hornets and then followed them back to their nests.

The project, carried out in southern France and Jersey, found five previously undiscovered nests, which were then destroyed to protect nearby hives.

Asian hornets are spreading rapidly in Jersey and have been reported in north west England.

A single nest can contain 6,000 hornets and each can devour up to 50 honey bees in a day, but they are notoriously difficult to find.

“It is vital to find the nests early in the season to prevent the hornet spreading,” said Professor Juliet Osborne, a co-author on the study.

The Asian hornet, which grows up to 3cms long, is believed to have arrived in Europe in 2004 inside a shipment of flower pots from China at the French port of Marseille.