A visit from the Asian Hornet

For many years, our island beekeeper Jilly Halliday - alongside all other beekeepers and insect enthusiasts on the islands - has been waiting in trepidation for a visit from the Yellow-legged Hornet.

The Yellow-legged Hornet is native to Asia (hence Asian Hornet) and has been spreading rapidly since it was accidentally introduced to France. This species can devastate insect populations, including honeybees, and our community has been working hard to prevent this non-native species from establishing on Scilly for a long time.

When he was checking the Tresco Abbey Garden hives back in September, Head Gardener Andrew Lawson came across something that didn't look right. He noticed the bright yellow legs and then quickly contacted the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit.

The team flew over as quickly as they could and - together with Andrew and Jilly - found and destroyed the nest within three days.

The experts used a trapping fluid to capture one of the hornets and then when it had fed on the sweet treat, they watched it fly from the top terrace in the Abbey Garden across the tree line to a hidden nest in the top of a tree.

Andrew quickly set about suiting up in thicker protection with hornet stings in mind and he climbed the tallest ladder he had in order to get to the top of the tree and destroy the nest.

Using a lance, Andrew pierced the nest with insecticide and then the nest was collected after 48 hours when everything had died.

All pieces of the nest were collected and it's been sent off to the lab so that we can find out where these Asian Hornets came from.

It was a brilliant triumph for Andrew, Jilly and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit. We hope that this is the last time we see the Asian Hornet but there is a chance another nest will have survived somewhere in the lush greenery of Tresco Abbey Garden.

Yellow-legged Hornets become less active in the run up to their hibernation period so Andrew, Jilly and the garden team will be keeping an eye out ahead of spring when they could appear again.

Despite the fear surrounding this species and the damage they can do, the Hornets found in our honeybee hives had actually been killed. It seems the Tresco bees are pretty tough and did not welcome these unexpected visitors either!

If you are on Tresco over the next few months, keep an eye out for the Yellow-legged hornet and always alert the Bee Unit if you spot something.