Yellow Legged Asian Hornet 2025:
The week of 1st – 7th September 2025 is Yellow Legged Asian Hornet week. Read more on the BBKA website. Teams from BKAs particularly around Surrey and the Kent and Sussex coasts are stressing vigilance for Yellow Legged Hornet (YLH) sightings.
Look carefully, but don’t panic. If you think the hornet you see might be a YLH, it is important to report sightings as quickly as possible, ideally with photographs if safe to take, and location details, so that the record can be checked and any necessary action taken. Please do not disturb or provoke an active hornet’s nest.
To aid in tracking and controlling the spread of the yellow-legged hornet, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, commissioned by Defra, developed the Asian Hornet Watch smartphone app for submitting records into the existing non-native species alert system. An online recording form and email address are also available.
European hornets have a varied diet and substantial hunting abilities. Invertebrate prey is largely used to feed the growing brood. The larvae oblige the adults by exuding a sugary liquid for them to feed on. Adult European hornets have a huge appetite for high energy food sources: tree sap, nectar, fruit and carrion. Hornets ultimately do a fantastic job in predating what are frequently regarded as both garden and agricultural pests.
These Asian, yellow legged visiting hornets are non-native predators that can wipe out honey bee colonies and devastate native insect populations. Unlike species with more specialised diets, they are opportunistic hunters – feeding on some 1,400 different insect species including honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, hoverflies and beetles.
Photo right: Macrame entry in the 2024 show, depicting differences between the European and Asian Yellow legged hornets.
This year, The National Honey Show lecture programme includes the following talks on the YLH:
Thursday 23rd October 9.30 – Jackie Thomas: Yellow Legged Hornet – So what happened in 2025? and a further update
Saturday 25th October 10.45 – Tom Bickerdike, SE Regional Bee Inspector: Yellow Legged Hornet update 2025
All are welcome to come along, hear the updates and find out the importance of the tracking and monitoring.
If you miss the lectures, they are recorded, and will be published on the National Honey Show YouTube Channel in the months following the show.
From the 2024 show you can still revisit the 2024 update on the YLH by Nigel Semmence and see the chat with Tom Bickerdike from the NBU.
Come along to The National Honey Show, 23rd to 25th October 2025 to find out more.
As well as the lectures and livestreams on YouTube and Facebook about the YLH and other aspects of the show, there are plenty of information stands, including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU) stand, shown here featuring their large model of the Yellow Legged Asian Hornet on their stand at the 2024 show.
