Asian hornet: how to spot and report the pest
- Directorate
- Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate
- Part of
- Farming and rural
Advice on what to do if you spot this pest of honey bees.
The Asian hornet (vespa velutina), is a predator of honey bees. It is an invasive non-native species from Asia and can cause significant loss to bee colonies and other native species, monitoring for its arrival is strongly recommended.
How to spot an Asian hornet
Asian hornets:
- have a dark brown or black velvety body
- have a yellow or orange band on fourth segment of abdomen
- have yellow tipped legs
- are smaller than the native European hornet
- are not active at night
Guidance on how to identify an Asian hornet and report any suspected sightings is available on the GB non-native species secretariat website.
If you suspect they are present within your colonies you must report it. If you think you have seen an Asian hornet, please notify the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) by email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk or via their app.
More information on the Asian hornet is available on BeeBase.
Contact
For further help and advice contact your local Scottish Government area office. or Bees_Mailbox@gov.scot
If you think you have seen an Asian hornet, please notify the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) by email: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.
- First published
- 17 January 2019
- Last updated
- 8 September 2022 - show all updates
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