Britain could be facing a record invasion of killer Asian hornets - after an 'astronomical' rise in their population. The 'explosion' of the dangerous bugs has been recorded on the Channel Island of Jersey - their UK 'frontline HQ'.
The battle there is seen as vital to stop the spread of the insects that could invade Britain and decimate the native bee population.
In 2022 on Jersey 55 queens were caught and 174 nests discovered. This year 438 queens were trapped - which could point to a mass rise in the number of nests.
Asian-hornet co-ordinator Alastair Christie said the numbers were ''an unprecedented, astronomical increase''. He said: ‘''Despite catching 438, we may find that there are as many, if not more, nests than last year. We just don’t know at the moment.''
Asian hornets, which have been dubbed "murder hornets" or "killer hornets", are among the world's largest species of wasps. Queens of this species reach over five centimetres long and the slightly smaller workers are about four centimetres long, according to the National History Museum.
The giant hornets have an orange head and a dark thorax, and their abdomens are banded yellow, black and brown. While their venom is less toxic than that of other species, they can inject more per sting.
The stinger is long enough to puncture thick, protective clothing, such as the kind normally worn by beekeepers. And while they do not go out of their way to find humans to sting this is not the case with honeybees.
When these wasps attack the bees, they will chew off the head, abdomen and legs, then transport the protein-rich thorax back to their nest.
The giant hornets will then eat honeybee broods. When they invade a colony, the hornets can enter a 'slaughter phase', where they will serially kill bee after bee. Within a few hours, a small group of hornets can decimate an entire honeybee colony. Once the bee workforce has been depleted, giant hornets will then spend days or weeks predating the honeybee pupae and larvae.
The species began to spread through Europe in 2004 after arriving in the south of France inside a freight ship. They were was spotted in the British Isles on the Channel Island of Jersey in late 2016.
But after years of establishing themselves on Jersey and Guernsey the battleground shifted last year to Southern England. This led to calls for a "people's army" to help fight off an impending invasion of killer hornets onto mainland Britain.
The hornets are able to kill with one sting among people who have an allergy while they also pose a threat to the environment and native species.
