On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 02:19:19 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 11:15:25 PM UTC+1, Norman Lynagh wrote:
Been having a bit of a problem here for the past couple of days with
very large wasps. I've had to deal with several in the house. We
don't
usually get very many wasps here and certainly not this early in the
year. These ones are rather slower-moving than the bog-standard
British
wasps and they appear to be at least 50% larger.

I've noticed a couple of people on Twitter commenting on them in
other
parts of the country. Perhaps they are 'immigrants' as a result of
climate change.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
twitter: @TideswellWeathr

There seems more this year here too. As many as usually in August.
Must be the early warm spell.
They are flying all round my garden looking at places to start a nest.
Seem to fancy an air brick in my house wall.
I've told them they can't nest there and blocked it with a piece of
wood.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon

---
The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is a species of hornet which is not
native to the UK. It is smaller than our native hornet and poses no
greater risk to human health than other hornets or bees.

However, they do pose a risk to honey bees and pollinating insects.
This is why we are keen to stop this insect establishing in the UK,
and why you should report suspected sightings.

When a sighting is confirmed, experts from the National Bee Unit (NBU)
and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will work quickly to
find and destroy any active nests in the area.

Current situation

No Asian hornets have been seen in the UK since 14 October 2018.

The risk of an active Asian hornet nest being found in the UK is
negligible during the colder winter months. A risk remains of
accidentally transporting an Asian hornet when returning to the UK
from abroad.

To date, there have been 13 confirmed sightings of the Asian hornet in
England and six nests have been destroyed.

Nine of these sightings occurred in 2018; an individual hornet in
Lancashire (April) and Hull, three in Cornwall, two in Hampshire, one
in Surrey (all September) and the latest in Kent (October).

It is crucial you report any possible sightings so our experts can
take quick and effective action to eradicate Asian hornets.

Nicola Spence, Chief Plant Health Officer, said:


“By ensuring we are alerted to possible sightings as early as
possible, we can take swift and effective action to stamp out the
threat posed by Asian hornets.

“While the Asian hornet poses no greater risk to human health than a
bee, we recognise the damage they can cause to honey bee colonies and
other beneficial insects.

“Please continue to look out for any Asian hornets and if you think
you’ve spotted one, report your sighting through the Asian hornet app
or online.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a...htings-in-2018