Basingstoke under siege from killer Asian hornets

The quaint Kent town of Basingstoke is under siege from killer Asian hornets – who are ‘hitching lifts in cars’, experts say. 

Beekeepers say they are expecting ‘all hell to break loose’ after a drastic surge of the honeybee-hunting bugs travelling on the M3 from southern cities such as Portsmouth and Southampton. 

The yellow-legged beasts were first spotted in the UK in 2016, but experts warned last year the invasive species had successfully ‘overwintered’ in the country for the first time. 

Many of the invasive species have made a base in The Channel Islands and then have migrated to southern parts of England – via the roads on board unwitting cars. 

The invasive species is known for hunting down other essential insects, particularly native bees. Just one of the predatory hornets can eat up to 50 honeybees in a single day. 

Their sting is not only ‘incredibly painful’ but they have also caused fatalities in the continent. 

Steve Delo, secretary of Basingstoke and District Beekeepers Association, said: ‘There’s a huge spike of these nasty, nasty creatures arriving in south Hampshire, and we are expecting all hell to break loose. 

‘We want people to keep an eye out as this is a public health issue.

‘The hornets are quite literally hitching lifts on cars and vans up the M3 into Basingstoke.’

Mr Delo advised: ‘Whatever you do, don’t approach a nest – if you see one report it but don’t go poking around. 

‘Though definitely don’t ignore it either because these creatures are eating our biodiversity!’ 

Insect specialists fear the species could invade Basingstoke and pose a serious risk to the public as well as wildlife. 

Steve said: ‘It’s not just honey that will be on the line, but our farming too. 

‘A third of the food we eat is pollinated by honeybees – they pollinate our fruit trees, apple trees, cherry trees, all stone fruit. 

‘But whilst these creatures eat 11kilograms of insect flesh, 30 per cent of that is honey bees, the remaining 70 per cent is other insects and other pollinators like moths, all flies, butterflies and other forms of bees. 

‘These are apex predators at the top of the food chain – they are very hungry pollinator eaters and one honeybee colony with thousands of bees is basically a larder or a large supermarket full of food for Asian hornets.’ 

Once confined to Asia, the hornets have hitched rides on cargo ships and are now at risk of nesting in Basingstoke if they travel inside vehicles up the M3 to the town. 

The ‘dangerous’ species arrived in France, Spain and Italy around 20 years ago, Steve said, and have slowly established themselves further up north. 

Steve said: ‘When they moved to the north of France, the hornets found themselves moving on the wing or effectively getting moved by transit. 

‘Then they ended up on the island of Jersey – there is a real problem there – and then up until 2023, we didn’t really have much of a problem in the UK. 

‘But now the numbers in Kent are significant – we’re talking hundreds of sightings – and now recently in the last year we’ve had sightings in South Hampshire.’ 

The bee specialist said their association and the National Bee Unit are hoping to raise awareness of what is going on because people ‘need to be on top of it’. 

Steve said that one Asian hornet queen can send out hundreds of queens later on in the season – so it will be vital to catch the queens as early as possible. 

He added that European honeybees in the west of England have not adapted to handle Asian hornets – so they have ‘no natural defence’ against the apex predators.

Not only do these hornets pose a grave threat to British biodiversity, but also to humans.

Steve described an Asian hornet sting as ‘incredibly more painful’ than a bee sting – and they can sting multiple times. 

Although he added that you will only get stung if you go too close to their nest. 

Steve said: ‘Their venom is a toxin and it will hurt! It produces an immediate pain and shock.  

‘There have been fatalities on the continent.’ 

Bee keepers have said increasing temperatures due to climate change are helping the species spread as they fly on warmer winds and are less likely to die off in harsh winters, which are becoming less frequent. 

The Basingstoke and District Beekeepers Association has launched a local and national campaign to raise awareness of the situation. 

Steve said one thing everyone in the country can do is download the Asian hornet app on their phone, so that if they spot one of the insects they can report it to the national bee unit – who will immediately go hunting for it if the sighting is validated. 

In the local Basingstoke area, the beekeeping Association are recruiting their own citizen scientists and body of volunteers who will receive training in how to monitor for Asian hornets using traps. 

An Asian hornet should not be confused with a European hornet, Steve added. 

He said: ‘The European hornet is big and orange and the Asian hornet is smaller, but black with yellow legs and has an orange band on fourth segment of its thorax.’