CIEH - pestmagazine.co.uk

Asian hornet awareness and identification NPAP CIEH, National Bee Unit, Non-Native Species Secretariat, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Defra

September 2019

CIEH

Brand Guidelines

November 2016 v01

© Jean Haxaire

2

Contents

Introduction ��3

1�0 Identification ��4

2�0 Life cycle��5

3�0 Public health and bee health significance ��6

4�0 Reporting Asian hornet sightings ��7

5�0 Monitoring ��7

6�0 References ��7

3

Introduction

The Asian hornet Vespa velutina is native to eastern Asia. It was accidentally introduced into Europe, probably in a consignment of pottery from China. It was confirmed in south west France in 2004 and quickly established and spread across France and is now found in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as the Channel Islands. The Asian hornet preys predominantly on honey bees Apis mellifera but also eats a wide range of insect prey and is believed to impact negatively on biodiversity. Additionally, it poses a health risk to those who have allergies to hornet or wasp stings.

The Asian hornet was discovered in the UK for the first time in 2016 hawking in front of beehives by a vigilant beekeeper in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. The government contingency plan was activated and the nest found and destroyed.

In 2017, in Woolacombe (North Devon) another vigilant beekeeper reported seeing Asian hornets hawking and hunting in his apiary. Upon confirmation, the contingency plan was again activated and a nest discovered and destroyed. In 2018 four nests were found (from 3 queens) – two in Hampshire and two in Cornwall and all were rapidly destroyed by Animal and Plant Health Agency staff. It is anticipated that more nests will be found in the UK especially as the species continues to spread in Europe.

In July 2019, a single hornet was confirmed in New Milton, Hampshire. In September 2019, a nest was reported in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

The purpose of this document is to raise awareness and provide guidance, regarding Asian hornets, to those involved in public health pest management.

For up to date outbreak information go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asian-hornet-uk-sightings-in-2018

Asian hornet primary nest

Asian hornet secondary nest© John De Carteret, Jersey

© John De Carteret, Jersey

4

1.0 Identification

Sim

ilar S

peci

es

Act

ive

Apr

il-N

ovem

ber (

peak

Aug

ust/S

epte

mbe

r).

Mat

ed q

ueen

s ov

er w

inte

r sin

gly

or in

gro

ups,

in v

ario

us n

atur

al a

nd

man

-mad

e ha

rbou

rage

s –

unde

rnea

th tr

ee b

ark

in c

aviti

es le

ft by

bee

tle la

rvae

, in

soil,

on

cera

mic

pla

nt p

ots

– po

tent

ially

an

y sm

all,

wel

l-ins

ulat

ed re

fuge

. Mak

es v

ery

larg

e ne

sts

in ta

ll tre

es in

urb

an a

nd ru

ral a

reas

, but

avo

ids

pure

sta

nds

of

coni

fers

. W

ill us

e m

an m

ade

stru

ctur

es (g

arag

es, s

heds

etc

.) as

nes

ting

site

s.

Fiel

d S

igns

Asi

an h

orne

t (Ve

spa

velu

tina)

for c

ompa

rison

Que

en u

p to

30m

m lo

ng, w

orke

r up

to 2

5mm

long

Legs

yel

low

at t

he e

nds

D

ark

brow

n / b

lack

abd

omen

with

a y

ello

w /

or

ange

ban

d on

4th

seg

men

t

Hea

d da

rk fr

om a

bove

, ora

nge

from

fron

t

Dar

k co

lour

ed a

nten

nae

E

ntire

ly b

lack

vel

vety

thor

ax

N

ever

act

ive

at n

ight

Euro

pean

hor

net (

Vesp

a cr

abro

)

Que

en u

p to

35m

m lo

ng, w

orke

r up

to 3

0mm

long

Legs

bro

wn

at th

e en

ds

Y

ello

w a

bdom

en m

arke

d w

ith b

row

n on

the

uppe

r pa

rt, n

ot b

ande

d

Hea

d ye

llow

from

abo

ve, y

ello

w fr

om fr

ont

Y

ello

w a

nten

nae

Th

orax

bla

ck w

ith e

xten

sive

bro

wn

mar

king

s

May

be

activ

e at

nig

ht

Gia

nt w

oodw

asp

(Uro

ceru

s gi

gas)

Larg

er th

an A

sian

hor

net,

fem

ale

up to

45m

m

long

Legs

yel

low

Dis

tinct

ive

yello

w a

nd b

lack

ban

ded

abdo

men

Long

cyl

indr

ical

bod

y un

like

Asi

an h

orne

t whi

ch

has

an o

bvio

us w

aist

Long

yel

low

ant

enna

e

Fem

ale

has

an o

bvio

us lo

ng s

ting-

like

ap

pend

age

(ovi

posi

tor)

whi

ch it

use

s to

lay

eggs

in

tree

s H

orne

t mim

ic h

over

fly (V

oluc

ella

zon

aria

)

Abd

omen

has

mor

e ye

llow

stri

pes

than

Asi

an h

orne

t

Legs

dar

ker t

han

Asi

an h

orne

ts

O

nly

one

pair

of w

ings

(hor

nets

and

was

ps h

ave

tw

o pa

irs)

La

rge,

glo

bula

r eye

s

Med

ian

was

p (D

olic

hove

spul

a m

edia

)

Mor

e ex

tens

ive

yello

w a

nd o

rang

e

colo

urat

ion

on a

bdom

inal

seg

men

ts th

an A

sian

ho

rnet

Yel

low

mar

king

s on

thor

ax u

nlik

e A

sian

hor

net

Did

ier D

esco

uens

Q. R

ome

Act

ual

size

Act

ual

size

Act

ual

size

Act

ual

size

Q. R

ome

Q. R

ome

Q. R

ome

Mia

Ton

ge, N

atio

nal B

ee U

nit

Alv

esga

spar

Act

ual

size

Rog

er B

urge

ss

Spe

cies

Des

crip

tion

Key

ID F

eatu

res

Scie

ntifi

c na

me:

Ves

pa v

elut

ina

A

KA

: Yel

low

-legg

ed H

orne

t N

ativ

e to

: Asi

a H

abita

t: N

ests

usu

ally

hig

h in

tree

s an

d m

an

mad

e st

ruct

ures

, som

etim

es c

lose

r to

the

grou

nd;

hunt

s ho

ney

bees

, oth

er in

sect

s an

d al

so fe

eds

on

fruit

and

flow

ers.

N

ot e

asily

con

fuse

d w

ith a

ny o

ther

spe

cies

. D

ark

brow

n or

bla

ck

velv

ety

body

. C

hara

cter

istic

ally

dar

k ab

dom

en a

nd y

ello

w ti

pped

le

gs.

Sm

alle

r tha

n th

e na

tive

Eur

opea

n H

orne

t.

Intro

duce

d to

Fra

nce

in 2

004

whe

re it

has

spr

ead

rapi

dly.

A n

umbe

r of

sig

htin

gs h

ave

been

reco

rded

in th

e U

K si

nce

2016

. Hig

h

poss

ibili

ty o

f int

rodu

ctio

n th

roug

h, fo

r exa

mpl

e, s

oil a

ssoc

iate

d w

ith

impo

rted

plan

ts, c

ut fl

ower

s, fr

uit,

gard

en it

ems

(furn

iture

, pla

nt p

ots)

, fre

ight

con

tain

ers,

in v

ehic

les,

or i

n/on

unt

reat

ed ti

mbe

r. T

he

poss

ibili

ty th

at it

cou

ld fl

y ac

ross

the

Cha

nnel

has

not

bee

n ru

led

out.

A h

ighl

y ag

gres

sive

pre

dato

r of n

ativ

e in

sect

s. P

oses

a s

igni

fican

t th

reat

to h

oney

bee

s an

d ot

her p

ollin

ator

s.

Do

not d

istu

rb a

n ac

tive

nest

. M

embe

rs o

f the

pub

lic w

ho

susp

ect t

hey

have

foun

d an

Asi

an H

orne

t sho

uld

repo

rt it

with

a

phot

o us

ing

the

deta

ils p

rovi

ded

in th

e re

d bo

x at

the

top

of th

is

ID s

heet

.

Legs

bro

wn

with

ch

arac

teris

tic y

ello

w

ends

Ent

irely

dar

k br

own

or b

lack

ve

lvet

y bo

dy

Que

ens

up to

30

mm

; w

orke

rs u

p to

25

mm

long

Asi

an h

orne

t “ha

wki

ng”

for h

oney

bee

pre

y

Asi

an H

orne

t E

urop

ean

Hor

net

Asi

an H

orne

t abd

omen

is a

lmos

t ent

irely

da

rk e

xcep

t for

4th

abd

omin

al s

egm

ent.

Abd

omen

bla

ck /

brow

n , f

ourth

se

gmen

t yel

low

/ or

ange

Dav

id W

alke

r

J. H

axai

re

Dav

id W

alke

r

Rep

ort s

ight

ings

of t

his

spec

ies

to:

aler

tnon

nativ

e@ce

h.ac

.uk

ww

w.n

onna

tives

peci

es.o

rg

Ver

sion

4.0

. Pro

duce

d by

Luc

y C

ornw

ell,

Ola

f Boo

y (N

NS

S),

Gay

Mar

ris, M

ike

Brow

n (N

atio

nal B

ee U

nit)

with

ass

ista

nce

from

Col

ette

O’F

lynn

(Nat

iona

l Bio

dive

rsity

Dat

a C

entre

Irel

and)

Stu

art R

ober

ts (B

WA

RS)

© J

ohn

De

Car

tere

t, Je

rsey

5

2.0 Life cycle

2.1 Spring After hibernation in spring, the queen,

usually measuring up to 3 cm long, will emerge and seek out an appropriate sugary food source in order to build up energy to commence building a small primary nest. During construction of the nest, she is alone and vulnerable but she will rapidly begin laying eggs to produce the future workforce. As the colony and nest size increases, a larger nest is either established around the primary nest or they relocate and build a secondary nest close by.

2.2 Summer During the summer, a single colony, on

average, produces 6,000 individuals in one season. From July onwards, Asian hornet predation on honey bee colonies will begin and increase until the end of November and hornets can be seen hovering outside a hive entrance, waiting for returning foragers. This is the characteristic ‘hawking’ behaviour. When Asian hornets catch a returning honey bee, they fly to a nearby perch and disassemble the bee, taking only the protein rich thorax back to the nest where it is fed to the hornet larvae.

2.3 Autumn During autumn, the nest’s priorities shift

from foraging and nest expansion to producing gynes (queens) and males (drones). Shortly after mating the new queens will leave the nest and find somewhere suitable to over-winter, while the old queen will die, leaving the nest to dwindle and die off. The following spring, the founding queen will start building her new colony and the process begins again. Each Asian hornet colony produces on average 350 gynes (queens), however only a small number will successfully mate and make it through winter to establish a nest the following year.

Asian hornet pupae to adult

1. Emergence of founder queens

from hibernation (Mid January -

March)

2. First ‘embryo’ nest made by

queen(April - May)

3. First brood of worker hornets

emerge(April - May)

4. Nest construction and

colony growth(May - September)

5. Mature active nest (several thousand

individuals)(September - October)

6. Emergence of sexual adults

(Mid July - November)

7. Mating - leading to production of numerous

mated queens, each capable of founding new colony(September - November)

Lifecycle of the Asian hornet Vespa velutina with estimated monthly

timings for UK, based on data from France.

(Data from Maher & Thiery. 2010INRA: Villemant et al, 2008)

8. Death of colony - Mated queens enter hibernation

(November - December)

Image courtesy of the National Bee Unit

© Jean Haxaire

6

Public health significance

3.1 A recent survey of Asian hornet nests in France shows that almost 50% are found in urban or semi-urban environments i.e. in relatively close proximity to human activity. This contrasts to the native European hornet, Vespa crabro, which will use manmade nesting sites (e.g. bird-nest boxes) but usually favour natural sites such as hollow trees.

A minority of Asian hornet nests (3%) are located less than 2m off the ground, in bushes, hedges or (very rarely) in the soil. The Asian hornet will also use man-made buildings as nesting sites, however, the majority (75%) are located at least 10m up in the canopies of large trees.

Of the six nests found in the UK up to the end of 2018, three have been found 12 -15m high in trees (Cypress, Alder and London plane), and three have been found in bushes or brambles less than 2m off the ground.

As a group, hornets possess poisonous venoms that they use to overcome their prey. These venoms are rich in toxins, enzymes and biologically active peptides. However, while some hornet species have been known to inflict fatal stings on humans, this is unusual; death occurs only rarely, when victims receive multiple stings, or as a result of anaphylactic shock. Generally, although very painful, the effects of hornet stings are local and short-

lived. Although V. velutina envenomation can cause severe adverse reactions, this has only been recorded after victims suffered multiple stings.

UK Government advice to the public, available

at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asian-hornet-uk-sightings-in-2018, is that Asian hornets can become aggressive when their nests are disturbed and, if a nest is found, people should not try to remove it themselves – it can be dangerous and should only be done by experts.

Bee health significance

3.2 Repeated and sometimes severe attacks from V. velutina on French honey bee colonies have been reported, in particular in the summer and autumn, by beekeepers from the southwest regions of France. Additionally, Asian hornets have indirect effects on honey bee health as chronic hornet activity around a colony causes honey bees to mount a constant defence of the hive entrance, thus greatly limiting their time spent foraging. This can lead to the weakening of the colony, and potential colony loss. Even low levels of hornet numbers (< 5 hornets/hive) can result in significant disruption. In France, A. mellifera colonies predated by V. velutina are typically left very weak, low in foragers or queenless, and vulnerable to disease, infestation and robbing.

3.0 Public health and bee health significance

© Jean Haxaire

© John De Carteret, Jersey

7

4.1 If you think you have seen an Asian hornet, please notify the Great British Non Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) immediately. In the first instance sightings should be reported through the free Asian Hornet Watch App, available for Android and Iphone. Search for ‘Asian hornet watch’ in itunes app store or google play

You can report sightings online (see inset online recording form) or by emailing: [email protected]. Where possible, a photo, the location of the sighting and a description of the insect seen should be included

If you would like to know more about the Asian hornet or any other Invasive Species, the NNSS website provides a great deal of information about the wide ranging work that is being done to tackle invasive species and tools to assist those working in this area.

4.0 Reporting Asian hornet sightings

Asian Hornet Watch AppANDROID

Online recording forms

Asian Hornet Watch AppIPHONE

NNSS - GB non native species secretariatwww.nonnativespecies.org

5.1 Guidance on how to monitor for Asian hornets can be found on BeeBase (see references) and advice and assistance can be sought from your local beekeeping association’s Asian Hornet

Action Team (AHAT). Details of how to find your local AHAT can be found at www.bbka.org.uk/asian-hornet-action-team-map

5.0 Monitoring

6.0 ReferencesNon-Native Species Secretariat http://www.nonnativespecies.org/alerts/index.cfm National Bee Unit http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionId=117Defra https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asian-hornet-uk-sightings-in-2018

Chartered Institute of Environmental HealthChadwick Court 15 Hatfields London SE1 8DJ

Telephone 020 7928 6006 Fax 020 7827 5831Email [email protected] Web www.cieh.org

CIEH

Brand Guidelines

November 2016 v01

The CIEH would like to thank Killgerm Group for their assistance in producing this booklet.

CIEH - pestmagazine.co.uk

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