Somerset Beekeepers Association (SBKA) is urging everyone to stay alert, get informed and be ready to report any sightings of the invasive yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) as part of the British Beekeepers Association’s Yellow-legged Asian Hornet Week (September 1–7).
“This year is already a record-breaker for yellow-legged Asian hornets (YLH). Their numbers have soared and there have been more sightings and nest discoveries this season than in all previous years put together,” said Master Beekeeper Lynne Ingram, SBKA Asian Hornet Team Coordinator. 
“It is predominantly Kent and East Sussex on the front line but last week nests were discovered in Cheshire and Yorkshire which shows YLH could turn up anywhere in the country.” 
YLH nests on Jersey have surged this year; the same density in Somerset would mean 14,630 nests.
“They don’t just threaten honey production, they threaten pollination, biodiversity, and our entire food system. One nest consumes around 11 kilos of insects in a single season,” added Lynne.
What to look for
The yellow-legged hornet is often confused with harmless native species. Key features of this predator are:
• Slightly smaller than the native European hornet at around 3cm
• Almost entirely dark brown or black body
• Distinctive bright yellow knee socks
• Single yellow/orange band near the tail end
• https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/diseases-and-pests/asian-hornet
Why it matters
These hornets are non-native predators that can wipe out honey bee colonies and devastate native insect populations. Unlike species with more specialised diets, they are opportunistic hunters – feeding on some 1,400 different insect species including honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, hoverflies and beetles.
What to do if you think you’ve seen one
1. Take a clear photo from a safe distance
2. Record the location
3. Report immediately via the free Asian Hornet Watch app (iOS and Android)
Do not kill it or disturb any nests – experts will assess and respond.
Join the fight – even if none have been spotted yet
Even in regions without current sightings, vigilance is vital. A single queen can establish a nest, leading to thousands of hornets and multiple queens next season.

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day.
The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.
Somerset BKA backs the UN campaign - this year's theme Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all highlights the critical roles bees and other pollinators play in agrifood systems and the health of our planet's ecosystems. Indeed, pollinators are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, unsustainable agricultural practices, climate change and pollution. Their decline jeopardizes food production, increases costs and exacerbates food insecurity, particularly for rural communities.
Pollination is essential for agrifood systems, supporting the production of more than 75 percent of the world's crops, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. In addition to increasing crop yields, pollinators improve food quality and diversity.
More than 200,000 animal species are pollinators, the vast majority of which are wild, including butterflies, birds, bats and more than 20 000 bee species.
Bees and other pollinators also serve as indicators of environmental health, providing insights into ecosystems and the climate. Protecting pollinators also enhances biodiversity and critical ecosystem services, such as soil fertility, pest control, and air and water regulation.
Nature-friendly agricultural practices like agroecology, intercropping, agroforestry, and integrated pest management help sustain pollinators, ensuring stable crop yields and reducing food shortages and environmental impacts.
Deliberate pollinator protection efforts ultimately foster the conservation of other components of biodiversity, which enhances ecosystem services like pest control, soil fertility and air and water regulation. Adopting a holistic approach that ensures the long-term co-existence of agricultural practices for the production of food, fibre and fuel is needed for sustainable agrifood systems.
There is something all of us can do to safeguard the future of pollinators.
Find out more about how you can promote #WorldBeeDay by reading FAQs Get involved guide

A group of Somerset beekeepers led by Fred Chaytors met Anna Sabine, Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset, at the House of Commons to raise issues affecting honey bees and pollinators including:
• Yellow-legged Asian hornets and the regional bee inspectorate
• Honey adulteration 
• The necessity for farmers to notify beekeepers about crop spraying
Fred (pictured on the left) presented Anna (third from left) and a member of her parliamentary office with jars of Somerset honey.

Somerset beekeeper Lynne Ingram, MB, NDB, has taken her fight against honey adulteration global.
Lynne has secured headlines in media titles around the world for her work with the Honey Authenticity Network (HAN UK) and scientists at Aston University.
Putting the spotlight on honey, she explains that beekeepers are being forced out of business due to cheap, adulterated imports. The UK is the second largest importer of honey in terms of volume in the whole of Europe and China is its top supplier. 
When beekeepers go out of business due to unfair competition, the risks to crop pollination and food security increase. 
Lynne, who is the BBKA's honey ambassador, wants the new government to acknowledge there is a problem.
"We want consumers buying honey to have confidence that they are purchasing a genuine product at a fair price and have the information to make an informed choice," she said.
The BBKA advocates, where possible, to buy honey from a local beekeeper which should ensure authenticity.
In May, the European Union updated its honey regulations to ensure clearer product labelling and a 'honey traceability system' to increase transparency.
On the labelling for blended honeys, for example, all countries of origin must be listed on the product. Labelling in the UK is not as stringent and Lynne believes consumers are 'being misled' by the packaging.
The UK is the second largest importer of honey in terms of volume in the whole of Europe. China is its top supplier.
Meanwhile, researchers at Aston University are using light to reveal the contents of honey samples at the molecular level in an effort to combat honey fraud.
The technique—known as Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Spectroscopy (FLE)—involves firing lasers into samples.
The light frequencies re-emitted are then collated into a three-dimensional image—or molecular fingerprint— of the honey tested.
Alex Rozhin, the project lead and a reader in nanotechnology at Aston, said that FLE is more accurate than existing tests and can provide results far more quickly and cheaply.
Eventually it is hoped to produce a version of the test which can be used on a smartphone. 

​Our AGM speaker, Matthew Elmes from Pollenize CIC, unveiled a new tool to combat the invasion of yellow-legged Asian hornets (AH) at our AGM.
Since then the company has launched a Crowdfunder campaign.
He described the ‘Nest Sweeper’ as a device that will help monitor the spread of the invasive insects:
“We've spent the last few years studying AH behaviour, including multiple research trips to Jersey, a hot-spot for AH activity, with the invaluable support of Alastair Christie BSc (Senior Scientific Officer for invasive species for the Government of Jersey).
“Our project involves the distribution of our 'Nest Sweeper' device, an enhanced Asian hornet bait station (EBS) coupled with a cutting-edge reporting app. We invite you to be a part of this vital effort to safeguard our ecosystems and bee populations.
“Unlike conventional bait stations, Nest Sweeper employs a vaporised dispersal method, allowing the hornet attractant to be carried on the wind. This innovative approach significantly increases the potential visitation of AH to the station, making it a game-changer for early detection and monitoring.”

The winner of this year’s most prestigious annual award for Somerset beekeepers is Lionel Horler from Castle Cary.
He received the West Country Honey Farms Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the craft from previous winner, Stewart Gould, at the county’s annual meeting.
Lionel, who has been keeping bees for nearly 50 years, led a team from the South East branch to set up an apiary at Hook Valley Solar Park on the outskirts of Wincanton.
What was once a muddy and disused corner of the site has been transformed into a thriving apiary accommodating 12 colonies and a building where members can meet. Opened in summer 2021, the apiary has already been used for training sessions and raising new colonies for those completing their beginners’ course. 
Lionel found national fame when he appeared alongside fellow Somerset resident Sarah Beeney collecting and hive a swarm for her tv series about living in the country.
As well as being an active swarm collector, he also heads the branch’s Asian hornet team and is actively recruiting more members and raising the profile of the threat the yellow-legged hornets pose to honey bees and pollinators.
Longstanding branch member Bob Jones added: “I have known Lionel since he first came to this area and found him unfailingly helpful, especially with those new to beekeeping, patient, and always ready to give freely of his time.
"Lionel is a lynch-pin in the bee tent at the Bath and West Show, runs the beginners' course year after year, and keeps himself forever available whenever there is cry for help from anyone in our beekeeping fraternity. I can think of no-one more deserving.”

BBC Countryfile has been looking into the murky world of honey adulteration this winter and caught up with high profile campaigner, Somerset beekeeper Lynne Ingram, NDB and Master Beekeeper.
Lynne visited presenter Adam Henson on his farm and invited him to taste some of her  Somerset honeys and talked about how local honey can be a snapshot of time and place.
Lynne chairs the Honey Authenticity Network (HAN UK) which is calling on the government to do more to protect consumers and beekeepers. She is also the BBKA's honey authenticity ambassador. 
Lynne is working with Aston University alongside the Scottish Bee Company and the BBKA to develop a new, reliable test for honey authenticity.  

Somerset Beekeepers’ Association (SBKA) is calling on the public to help fight a major threat to honey bees and other pollinators - Asian hornets.

As of 19.9.23, 51 nests have been discovered in the UK so far this year, more than three times the number found in the last six years combined.
 
Local beekeepers are concerned that these invasive predators will reach Somerset.
 
There have been a number of unconfirmed sightings in the county.
 
Lynne Ingram, SBKA’s Asian hornet team coordinator, said: “Asian hornets are wreaking havoc in Europe and, if they get established in the UK, our honey bees and many other insects will be decimated here, too.”
 
Asian hornets (Vespa velutina) look like a large black wasp with yellow legs, an orange face, blackish brown body with a broad orangey yellow stripe towards the end of the abdomen.
 
They are slightly smaller than native European hornets.
 
Anyone who suspects they have seen an Asian hornet should report it immediately using the phone app ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ or the online reporting form: https://risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet
 
Asian hornets are a non-native, invasive species and must be reported.
 
Many nests have been found in patches of brambles and in hedgerows and there are fears that foragers enjoying the bumper blackberry crop and gardeners could inadvertently disturb a nest.
 
Lynne added: “Foragers and gardeners should check hedges carefully to avoid disturbing an Asian hornet nest. Normally they don’t attack, but if you are near a nest, or disturb it, they can become extremely aggressive and dangerous.”
 
A single nest can contain up to 6,000 workers and 350 queens.
 
“We must act to stop them getting established in this country,” added Lynne.
 
“Now is a key time to discover and destroy any nests before they produce new queens, which will mate, go into hibernation, and produce new nests next year”
 
At this time of the year Asian hornets can be spotted on flowering ivy, fallen fruit and catching honey bees outside their hives.
 
Asian hornets hover about a foot away from the entrance to a beehive, before charging bees and forcing them to the ground. They then paralyse them and carry the bees away.
 
Just one Asian hornet can hunt down and eat 50 honey bees a day and their habit of hawking (hovering) outside the hive stops the bees from collecting nectar and pollen to feed themselves.
 
“We need the public to help protect honey bees and other pollinators from this voracious predator.”
 
Hornet sightings are filtered by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of Defra, and teams of bee inspectors deployed to track hornets back to their nests which are then destroyed.
 
Beekeepers across the country are mobilising as part of elite teams trained to provide emergency support to the NBU’s hornet hunters.
 
A single Asian hornet queen arrived by accident in France from China in 2004 and has spread rapidly across France and into many other European countries.
Ends
 
About Asian hornets (Vespa velutina):

• As of 19.9.23, there have been 51 Asian hornet nests found in 43 locations.
• Between 2016 and 2022 there were just 14 nests. The first Asian hornet in the UK was discovered in 2016.
• See the National Bee Unit Asian hornet rolling news page for latest tally. https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/about-us/beekeeping-news/2023-asian-hornet-rolling-updates/
• The UK is in the eradication phase of the contingency response and all sightings are being tracked and nests killed rapidly.
• All hornets caught along with the contents of the nests are scientifically analysed to determine if there is any evidence of an established population in the UK.
• To date there is no evidence of an established population in the UK.
• Reports from Europe and Jersey indicate that it is an exceptional hornet year and record numbers of queens and nests are being seen.
• Asian hornets are slightly smaller than native European hornets, have a distinctive black/dark brown thorax; brown abdominal segments with the fourth segment almost entirely yellow-orange, brown legs with yellow ends, a black head and an orange-yellow face.
• Asian hornets are a notifiable, non-native, invasive species and should be reported immediately via the Asian Hornet Watch app or https://www.bbka.org.uk/asian-hornet-reporting
• A report by scientists puts the cost of the Asian hornet invasion in France at €30.8 million annually. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723041992
• Scientists report that Asian hornets have a serious and detrimental impact on pollinators and pollination services. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179123000415?via%3Dihub

 
About Somerset Beekeepers’ Association (SBKA):

• SBKA is a volunteer-run members' organisation and Registered Charity that represents the interests of beekeepers in the county.
• Founded in 1906, SBKA educates, advises and brings together more than 1,000 beekeepers and raises awareness of issues affecting honeybees.
• SBKA is made up of 12 affiliated Divisions; many Divisions run taster days and courses for beginners each year
• Most of our members have just a few colonies producing modest amounts of honey
• SBKA is actively working to prevent Asian hornets getting established in the county.

www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk
 
 
 

On Saturday 9 September the Central Division of Somerset Beekeepers held an information pitch at Wells Market in Somerset. The idea behind this was to get the message to the public and ask for their help in locating and reporting Asian hornets (AH) by using the AH Watch app. This Saturday was also chosen to coincide with AH week.

Over the course of the day we spoke to over 500 people, many of whom had heard about the AH issue but very few knew what they could do to help...until now.

With most of the mainland UK sightings having been made by members of the public I felt, as Chair of Central Division, that it was no good me sitting on my backside moaning about the apparent lack of information that is getting through to the public but better to get out there and do something about it...so did. At the time of booking and organising this event there hadn't been coverage on the BBC, this also helped peoples awareness on the day.

The Non Native Species Secretariat provided me with a number of exceedingly good quality handouts and we also used some that were printed by Somerset BKA last year. The public, once they realised we weren't looking for sponsorship or anything were mostly accepting and some had heard of the issue and promised to download the app. Many also had pictures on their 'phones of European hornets which are abundant this year.

In the 60s every Post office in the UK had posters up about Colorado Beetles...why haven't they now got posters about AH, with information about the app. We need as many eyes on the ground as possible and a national campaign needs to be up and running or we will be too late and in a few years time beekeepers, those who still have hives, may well be trying to find ways to live with the AH.
        
Nick Potts, Chair Central Somerset Beekeepers

​Somerset BKA's recent lecture given by Dmytro Kushnir talked about the situation in the Ukraine for beekeepers and the country more widely. The recording is available for members to watch: members area - lecture recordings.
Dmytro is the co-founder of Honey Brothers Ukraine, is head of the Honey Section at the AgriFood Committee of Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the main co-ordinator of the National Honey Forum (the industry’s biggest business event in Ukraine). He is an expert on the geographical indications for honey and an international business consultant.
Following our talk more than £200 was donated to support people in Ukraine through the National Honey Show's fundraiser. Thank you!