Explanation of tables
Since 2016, there have been several incursions into the UK of the yellow-legged hornet. Various members of the National Bee Unit are often asked questions about these events, including how many hornets, where they were, were they related to others already destroyed etc. The following two tables you can find in the links give a summary of the information to date (February 2023).
Yellow-legged hornet sightings 2016-22
| Date initial sighting confirmed | Location | County | Reported by | Lone hornet or nest? |
Possible route into UK | Date nest destroyed |
Nest tree/shrub type and height |
| 19th September 2016 | Tetbury | Gloucestershire | Beekeeper | Nest | No information | 28th September 2016 | 16.8m in Cypress tree |
| 30th September 2016 | Lower Langford | North Somerset | Beekeeper | Lone hornet Likely Queen | No information Trapped Spring 2016 reported 29th September | N/a | N/a |
| 13th October 2016 | Bath | North Somerset | Member of the public | Lone hornet | Found in camping gear after trip to France | N/a | N/a |
| 3rd March 2017 (Confirmed from Photo as hornet destroyed) |
Central Belt | Scotland | Pest controller | Lone hornet Likely Queen | Supermarket distribution centre | N/a | N/a |
| 26th September 2017 | Woolacombe | North Devon | Beekeeper | Nest | No information | 28th September 2017 | 1.2m in Escalonia hedge |
| 13th April 2018 | Bury | Lancashire | Member of the public | Lone hornet | Found in cauliflower from Lincolnshire - probably originated in France |
N/a | N/a |
| 22nd August 2018 |
English Channel |
N/a | Beekeeper | Lone hornet | On Ferry from Poole to Cherbourg |
N/a | N/a |
| 3rd September 2018 | Fowey | South Cornwall | Beekeeper | Primary Nest | No information | 6th September 2018 | 0.5m in Bramble bush |
| 7th September 2018 |
Liskeard | South Cornwall | Beekeeper | Lone hornet Diploid Drone |
From Fowey nest | N/a | N/a |
| 9th September 2018 |
Cottingham, near Hull |
East Yorkshire | Member of the public | Lone hornet | Householder recently returned from France |
N/a | N/a |
| 20th September 2018 | Fowey | South Cornwall | NBU surveillance after first nest discovered and destroyed. | Secondary nest | No information | 21st September 2018 | 7m in Elm tree |
| 24th September 2018 | New Alresford | Hampshire | Member of the public | Nest | No information | 25th September 2018 | 0.4m in Euonymus japonicus shrub |
| 26th September 2018 | Brockenhurst | Hampshire | Member of the public and beekeeper | Nest | No information | 4th October 2018 | 15m in London Plane tree |
| 28th September 2018 | Guildford | Surrey | Beekeeper | Lone hornet | Found in grille of a new Mini car thought to have been delivered from mainland Europe. | N/a | N/a |
| 15th October 2018 | Dungeness | Kent | Member of the public | Lone hornet 2 males | May have blown in across Channel after stormy weather |
N/a | N/a |
| 3rd July 2019 | New Milton | Hampshire | Member of the public | Lone hornet | No information | N/a | N/a |
| 2nd September 2019 | Drayton Bassett, Tamworth |
Staffordshire | Beekeeper | Nest | No information | 4th September 2019 | 20m up in Spruce tree |
| 9th September 2019 | Tenterden, near Ashford | Kent | Member of the public (fruit farmer) | Lone hornet | No information | N/a | N/a |
| 1st October 2019 | Highcliffe, Christchurch | Dorset | Beekeeper (had seen poster put up by inspector as part of the New Milton surveillance) | Secondary Nest | No information | 3rd October 2019 | 15m in Oak tree |
| 10th October 2019 | Highcliffe, Christchurch | Dorset | NBU surveillance after first nest discovered | Primary Nest | No information | 10th October 2019 | Ground level in a log in brambles |
| 8th September 2020 | Gosport | Hampshire | Member of public and beekeeper in quick succession | Nest | No information | 11th September 2020 | 6m in Apple Tree |
| 7th October 2021 | Ascot | Berkshire | Beekeeper | Nest | No information | 11th October 2021 | 25m in Black Poplar |
| 29th October 2021 | Portsmouth | Hampshire | Member of public | Nest | No information | 31st October 2021 | 20m in Norway Maple |
| 26th April 2022 | Felixstowe | Essex | Beekeeper | Lone hornet | Near the port! | N/a | N/a |
| 24th August 2022 | Chelmsford | Essex | Member of public | Lone hornet | No information | N/a | N/a |
| 27th September 2022 | Rayleigh | Essex | Beekeeper | Nest | No information | 30th September | 8m in Sycamore |
| 30th September2022 | Dover | Kent | Member of public | Lone hornet | No information | N/a | N/a |
Yellow-legged hornet nest analysis 2016 - 2022
|
a Individuals which were identified morphologically as males but were diploid.
b The genetic diversity data were calculated for the individuals for Fowey 1 and 2 combined, given they were offspring from a single queen.
c No data; nest too damaged.
Information in this table is taken from the following paper published 11th November 2020 "Managing incursions of Vespa velutina nigrithorax in the UK: an emerging threat to apiculture" Eleanor P. Jones, Chris Conyers, Victoria Tomkies, Nigel Semmence, David Fouracre, Maureen Wakefield & Kirsty Stainton