Page 43 - ALG Issue 2 2018 html

6). The extremities of the legs are yellow and it has an orange face (Figure 4). Sometimes, there can be a bit of variation in the colouring on the main part of the abdomen but as a rule of thumb, this is very reliable. However, the European hornet resembles a large wasp and has a yellow and black striped abdomen (Figure 2 and 7), with some brown variation. It also has a brown thorax, which is the body part between the head and the lower body and holds the wings and brown legs. The face is yellow and brown (Figure 3) and it is also the larger of the two hornets. For more details of the comparison, please see the accompanying ID sheet.
Where to report suspect sightings
If you ever suspect that you have caught
or seen an Asian hornet there are several routes you can use to report your sighting.
Even if you are in any doubt you should report any suspect sighting anyway.
The avenues in which to report your sightings are as follows:
The online form
The online recording form can be found at http://www.brc.ac.uk/risc/alert. php?species=asian_hornet.
‘Asian hornet watch’ app and email
For those who want to submit a suspect hornet sighting with their smart phone or tablet, we have developed a smartphone app for Androids and iOS. The app also uses GPS which allows the user to submit the exact location of their finding, allowing
Figure 2: Our native European hornet
Figure 3: Notice the yellow and brown features of the European hornet’s face, compared to the orange and black face of the Asian hornet
any confirmed sightings to be followed up quickly and efficiently.
Alternatively, you can submit your sighting by email. When doing so, please include
as much information as possible, including where you saw the sighting, name, contact number/address and if possible an image. Send your sightings to:
alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk
All records received are reviewed by entomologists at Centre of Ecology and Hydrology and credible records passed on to Animal and Plant Health Agency, at the National Bee Unit and the GB Non Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) for further investigation.
Figure 5: The lifecycle of the Asian hornet. Know your enemy. Being able to identify and look out for the Asian hornet is the most obvious but most important factor. In 2017, we had nearly 5,000 recorded possible sightings, where the public had confused our native European hornet, Vespa crabro, or other insects with the Asian hornet.
4. Nest construction and colony growth
May – September
2. First “embryo”
nest made by founder queen
April – May
5. Mature active nest (several thousand individuals)
September – October
Lifecycle of the Asian hornet Vespa velutina, with estimated monthly timings for UK
1. Emergence of founder queens from hibernation
February – March
7. Mating – leading to production of numerous mated queens, each capable of founding new colony
8. Death of colony. Mated queens enter hibernation
November – December
3. First brood of worker hornets emerge
April – May
September – November
6. Emergence of sexual adults
Mid July – November
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