Asian hornets seen in UK earlier than ever before as map shows sightings near you
Swarms of Asian hornets have been seen in the UK earlier than ever before, with an interactive map showing the closest bugs to where you are. Until this year, the small insects have mainly been seen in the UK during late summer, with sightings continuing into September and October.
The earliest they were seen before 2025 was March 11, but the record was smashed this year when one was captured on January 25 in Oswestry, Shropshire. They are mainly found in Kent after flying over the channel from France during the warmer summer months. However, concerning DNA analysis conducted last year found Asian hornets may now be able to survive British winters, which has led to concerns they could permanently call the UK home. To see where they have been seen so far you can use our interactive map below.
Kate Wilson, head of the Animal & Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit, said: “Yellow-legged hornets cause significant damage to native pollinators, including our much-loved honey bees.
“That’s why APHA’s National Bee Unit continues to take swift and effective action to stamp out the threat posed by yellow-legged hornets, all as part of ongoing monitoring and surveillance work to protect our pollinators.
“Thanks to increasing reports to the Asian Hornet Watch app and online, it is not unexpected that sightings may occur earlier in the year. We encourage the public to remain vigilant and continue to report any potential sightings to us.”
Asian hornets are twice the size of a wasp and can eat up to 50 bees in a day. Their nests are destroyed as soon as they are discovered to prevent them wiping out native pollinators.
The capture of the insect in Oswestry in January may be further evidence of this but experts say it is not clear if Asian hornets are established in the UK and an increase in sightings is expected as people become more aware of the arrival of Asian hornets.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the sighting in Oswestry is the earliest laboratory confirmed sighting of an Asian hornet in the UK. The earliest laboratory confirmed sighting prior to this was March 11 2023 in Ash, Kent.
Last year, the National Bee Unit, which is part of Defra, said it destroyed 24 nests in areas mostly around Kent and East Sussex. Defra is tracking all sightings of the insect in an effort to eradicate it from the UK.
Since the sighting of the Asian hornet in Oswestry there has been a second captured, last Thursday, in Canterbury, Kent. Asian hornets do not pose a threat to human health but there are fears that they could disrupt the biodiversity of the English countryside if they become established and threaten local populations of honey bees and insect pollinators.
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