Widespread concern about spread of Asian hornets
PA MediaPeople are being urged to report sightings of Asian hornets in a bid to stop them spreading.
The non-native invasive species, which was recently spotted in Somerset for the first time, is a predator of other insects including honeybees, butterflies and beetles.
The sighting in Somerset has raised concerns the hornets could be heading towards Devon and Cornwall and South West Water has asked people to report any sightings.
Officials in the Channel Islands reported a record number of Asian hornet queens and nests last year and said this year would be a critical indicator since queens had been caught earlier than ever before.
PA MediaAccording to the Devon Hornet Action Team, Asian hornet queens are being blown across the Channel from France towards Kent and "every year, they're getting closer to us as an established group".
The group's Simon O'Sullivan said: "In Somerset, just over the border from Tiverton, we have seen Asian hornets, so they're slowly coming towards us and we're trying to get organised."
A single nest of the apex predators can eat around 11kg (24lbs) of native insects within a single season.
As of 3 September, the National Bee Unit had recorded sightings of 167 yellow-legged hornets and 53 nests across Britain.
According to O'Sullivan, if not controlled, "they'll spread very rapidly".
"We've had three nests in Devon in the last few years; we had the second nest in the UK in Woolacombe in 2016 and then there was a couple in Plymouth," he said.
"But now the concern is, it's this established population which is slowly working its way towards us."
South West WaterThe time it could take for the insects to become established in the South West is not clear, but according to experts, the weather is a factor.
The number of Asian hornets trapped in Alderney this year almost halved compared to last year, which experts attributed in part to favourable wind direction and strength from France.
O'Sullivan said weather was key.
He said: "These long, hot summers will certainly increase the population, but again, very long, wet winters will have an adverse effect on overwintering queens.
"If we were to have a very long hot summer, like we've had, but then a very dry winter, the population would probably increase quite dramatically.
"I would imagine within the next two or three years, we're going to have a lot more reports of hornets within Devon, and I would imagine similar in Cornwall."
Knock on effects
Michael Grindley, an Asian hornet coordinator in Cornwall, said the insects were "very adept at stowing away under vehicles in cargo" and added they could also arrive "anywhere yachts can come in" such as Falmouth, Newlyn and Fowey.
He said half of their food intake is from bees and the remainder flies, wasps and butterflies, which pollinate fruit crops.
"So we'll have lots of wheat and lots of corn, but no tomatoes, no fresh fruit, no soft fruit," he added.
He concluded: "The knock on from that is that the birds will suffer because there are no insects for the birds to eat and fresh water fish will also suffer."
Officials in the Channel Islands have been dealing with Asian hornets since the first reporting sighting in Jersey in August 2016.
They arrived in Guernsey seven months later.
Alastair Christie, senior scientific officer for invasive species at the States of Jersey Environment Department, said there had been a rise in sightings on the island this year.
He said there had been 734 nests reported so far this year, compared to about 500 at the same time last year.
Christie said the team was doing its best to combat them but it was a "challenging situation".
He said: "I think we have to learn to live with them, but also the approach we've got at the moment is unsustainable.
"Options are being discussed about how best to live with them, but how best to manage an Asian hornet population, too."
Guernsey's government said it had two main ways of dealing with Asian hornet sightings.
Annelotte Baas-Jehan, invasive non-native species policy and coordination officer, said the first stage was spring queening, which involved capturing the queen to avoid them forming nests.
She said in this phase, a network of traps is set out every 500m (1,640ft) which are monitored daily.
The second phase is Track Don't Trample, she said, in which the public were asked to report sightings and flight directions of the hornets during the summer and autumn.
"Our aim is to keep the population of Asian hornets as low as possible, requiring different phases of action and our community plays a huge and vital role, helping us to keep on top of this work to protect our honeybees and biodiversity," she added.
South West Water has asked residents in Devon and Cornwall to report any Asian hornet sightings.
Rebecca Northey, a beekeeper and the water firm's invasives and biosecurity officer, said the Asian hornet is a "major threat to our native insects" adding it is "really important that we play a part to monitor and manage the species".
Anyone who sees one is urged to take a photograph and report the sighting via the the Asian Hornet Watch app or contact a local beekeeping group.
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