- The species preys on honeybees, wasps, bumblebees and spiders and is a threat to pollination and biodiversity
- They have been spotted in Cornwall and in Yorkshire, but has the hornet already landed on Irish shores?
- The Asian hornet was first spotted in Europe in 2004, and it is thought that they arrived through a shipment of imported pottery from China.
An invasive alien species of the world’s biggest hornet has been found for the first time in Ireland in a north Dublin home. The Asian Hornet is native to parts of Asia and Russia but is a threat to many other species including the honeybees, wasps, other pollinators such as bumblebees, hoverflies and spiders, which it uses primarily to feed its larvae.
They target a wide variety of insects, but their main target are bees, particularly cultivated bees.
- The Asian hornet is smaller than our native hornet, with adult workers measuring from 25mm in length and queens measuring 30mm.
- It’s abdomen is mostly black except for it’s fourth abdominal segment which is a yellow band located towards the rear.
- It has characteristically yellow legs which accounts for why it is often called the yellow legged hornet and it’s face is orange with two brownish red compound eyes (image 1).
Source from Various News Agencies
