Killer Asian hornets begin invasion after being blown over from France
KILLER Asian hornets are heading for Britain again — with the first of the year discovered on the front line of the battle to keep them out.
The insects have been found in the Channel Islands and are the first wave of a 2022 invasion being blown over from France.
Asian hornet project co-ordinator Francis Russell said the first warning sign came when one was caught on Alderney on Tuesday.
A second was found dead in the Guernsey village of L’Islet and another was later caught in a queening trap in a garden.
The sightings have prompted a fresh warning to islanders to be vigilant to the fresh wave of invaders.
Mr Russell said: “We think these are coming fresh from France. The wind is set to be north-easterly through the next week.
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“We tend to get Asian hornets during north-easterly winds or just afterwards. I think this is the start. More will be found.”
The number of queens found on the Channel Islands — the bugs’ launchpad for Britain — is expected to start rising as the summer approaches.
The islands are seen as the front line in the fight against the bugs.
More than 20 hornets, as well as two primary nests, have also been found in Jersey earlier this year.
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There could be another summer-long battle to stop the spread of the insects, which could decimate the UK’s native bee population.
The species began to spread through Europe in 2004 after arriving in the south of France inside a freight ship.
They can kill people who have an allergy with a single sting and can eat 50 bees in a day.
