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A ‘unprecedented’ number of early suspected observations of Asian Hornets raised the fear of a surge in the British population of the invading species.
Experts warn about the potential impact on important indigenous pollinators, with the hornets – capable of killing 50 honeybees per day – which has already destroyed colonies and severely reduced the production of honey in parts of France and Italy.
The Asian Hornet, also known as the yellow bone Hornet, is believed to have arrived in a load of pottery from China in 2004 and spread quickly across the continent to the extent that they were now seen in 15 countries.
For the first time, experts saw in the UK last year in the UK, and warned last year that the number of nests dropping to 24 last year in Britain dropped three times less than in 2023-the invasive Hornets were successfully in the UK.
Now, with a warm start of the spring season, experts in Jersey have an unprecedented number of early observations of Skinutinof which the sting causes allergic reactions that can be deadly due to anaphylaxis in extremely rare cases.
“The first queens were more than two weeks early this year,” said John de Carteret, a founding member of the Jersey Asian Hornet group. The guardianand add, “We are obviously concerned.”
According to the group, Queen Asian Hornets was reported on April 11, which was an increase in more than 1,000 percent compared to the same date last year.
The number also rose rapidly from 147, Queen Hornets reported on April 6, and only 33 queens a week before, Mr. De Carteret said.
“When we reach 266 Queens, we will be equal to the total from 2024 – and the figure was only reached until June 25,” says De Carteret.
Ian Campbell, of the British Beekeepers Association, told the newspaper: ‘It would be a surprise if the numbers were not above the 2024 level, and warned against their alarming ability to increase and say:’ In some countries like Spain and Belgium, we increased from a handful of nests to 10,000 in four years.
According to Mr Campbell, a typical nest of between 2,000 and 3,000 horns can eat more than 11 kg of insects per season – which is equivalent to the weight of about 90,000 bees.
Research published in November 2023 has suggested that between 2.6 and 29.2 percent of the country’s bee colonies in France-the country of the Land-the risk of being wiped out every year due to Asian Hornets, at a time for the economy of up to € 30 million.
Although only two Hornets were officially seen in the UK in 2025, in Shropshire and Kent, according to the government’s animal and plant health agency database, the number of confirmed observations is typically much larger than eventually confirmed and eradicated.
Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Exeter Genetic Analysis conducted to identify prey species in the intestines of more than 1,500 Hornet larvae from 103 nests in Jersey, France, Spain and the United Kingdom -and found that the hornets on hundreds of different insect species that are already under pressure from the farm, changes and chemical pollution.
The study drew attention to the potential impact on agriculture, pointing out that 43 of the 50 species most identified in the diet of the Hornet larvae visit flowers. This includes Europe’s three main crop pollinators-the honey bee, buff-star hommelby and the red-tailed hommelby.
Warning that their findings have shown that the Hornets are ‘highly flexible predators’, the lead author Siffreya pedersen of the study said:’ Insects play important roles to make ecosystems function – including pollination, dissolution and pest control.
“Most insect populations are descending due to factors such as habitat destruction and chemical pollution. The growing area inhabited by Asian Hornets pose an extra threat.”
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