National Bee Unit confirm another sighting of the Asian hornet in Woolacombe in Devon

​Vespa velutina in UK: The contingency response has been initiated.

The National Bee Unit has confirmed another sighting of the Asian hornet at an apiary near Woolacombe in Devon (18 September 2017). This is the first confirmed sighting since last year, when a nest was discovered in the Tetbury area in Gloucestershire (20 September 2016).

Beekeepers within the area of the outbreak will be contacted by Bee Inspectors in order to carry out apiary inspections and to hang out traps and we ask for full your co-operation during these visits.

Work to identify, destroy and remove any nests is already underway, which includes:
• opening a local control centre to coordinate the response;
• deploying bee inspectors across the area, and;
• readying nest disposal experts who will use pesticides to kill the hornets and destroy any nests.
https://www.gov.uk/gover…/…/asian-hornet-identified-in-devon