UK Beekeepers Demand National Asian Hornet Campaign — SkimNews
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- British Beekeepers Association called for a government-led national awareness campaign on Asian hornets, with trustee Lucie Chaumeton warning the species creates "pollinator deserts" that threaten food security and the agricultural economy.
- National Bee Unit (part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency) destroyed a record 161 Asian hornet nests in 2025; in 2024, nearly 30,000 public reports resulted in just 24 confirmed nests.
- Genetic analysis of 2024 nests confirmed queens had successfully mated, survived winter, and established new colonies the following year — providing evidence the species is gaining a foothold in Britain.
- Asian hornets arrived in Europe from south-east Asia in 2004 and have continued spreading, with their expansion likely boosted by increasingly warm springs and summers.
- Apha trialled radio transmitters attached to hornets in 2025 to help locate nests, while researchers are separately testing VespAI, an AI system designed to visually identify Asian hornets.
- Chaumeton said Asian hornets remain viewed as a "beekeeping issue" rather than a national biodiversity threat, and called for "a clear multi-year commitment from successive governments" to eradication.
Why it matters: The National Bee Unit destroyed a record 161 nests in 2025, but genetic analysis of 2024 nests confirmed queens successfully overwintered and founded new colonies — the first hard evidence of establishment. BBKA's Chaumeton warned the species is still treated as a beekeeping problem rather than a national food-security threat, meaning eradication now depends on whether the government funds a nationwide public-awareness push.
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