Beekeepers and members of the public are being asked to remain vigilant after Asian hornets were spotted in the UK. The Naitonal Bee Unit, which works on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed the sighting and said monitoring was under way to detect further Asian hornets.
The sighting was made in the Rayleigh area of Essex. The Asian hornet is smaller than the UK's native hornet and poses no greater risk to human health than native wasps and hornets, Defra said.
However, they do pose a risk to honey bees and work is already under way to monitor for any hornet activity and to identify any nests nearby. This is the first confirmed UK sighting since April 2022, when a single Asian hornet was captured in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
