Here’s a guy with a face (below) only a mother (or queen!) could love – the Asian Hornet(Vespa velutina), also known as the Yellow-legged Hornet. Throughout many parts of the planet including north America and Europe this hornet is now a fairly common invasive species. It first reared its head in Europe around 2004 in France and quickly spread south across many parts of the continent. As an invasive species of around 2cm to 3cm it has no common predators and has been able to quickly adapt to its new environment and is now a known predator of local insects, especially honeybees. They build large oval or dome shaped nests in a variety of locations including hanging from trees and these can easily house upwards of 6,000 occupants. If spotted in Europe, as this one was by my wife, it should be reported to regional control centres so that distribution can be monitored and if nests are found they should only be destroyed by trained professionals. Beware, these hornets can pack a pretty nasty sting and have even been known to kill birds!
