Sighting of Asian hornet is confirmed
BEE EXPERTS from Yorkshire have been drafted in to investigate the presence of an insect species that kills honey bees.
Work is underway to identify any nests and destroy them after a confirmed sighting of the Asian hornet – which are smaller than the native hornet – in the Fowey area of south Cornwall, the Government said.
Inspectors from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit at Sand Hutton near York are carrying out surveillance over a 1.2 mile (2km) radius around the initial sighting.
Nicola Spence, deputy director for plant and bee health at the Department for the Environment, food and Rural Affairs, said: “While the Asian hornet poses no greater risk to human health than a bee, we recognise the damage they can cause to honey bee colonies.
“That’s why we are taking swift and robust action to locate and investigate any nests in the south Cornwall areas following this confirmed sighting.
“Following the successful containment of the Asian hornet incursion in North Devon last year and Tetbury previously, we have a well-established protocol in place to eradicate them and control any potential spread.
“We remain vigilant across the country, working closely with the National Bee Unit and their nationwide network of bee inspectors.”
A leading expert of the Asian hornet, Prof Juliet Osborne, from Exeter University, said the latest sighting was “concerning”.
“It is an invasive species providing a major new emerging threat to our beleaguered pollinator populations,” she said.