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04
Aug
Mystery surrounds ‘misleading’ report of Asian hornet in Ripon
Yesterday (August 3), the Stray Ferret reported on a confirmed sighting of an Asian hornet in Ripon.
The Yorkshire Beekeeping Association said it was a “credible” sighting, backed up by a photograph.
The government's National Bee Unit was sent to deal with the insect, with plans to live-catch the hornet and attempt to track the nest.
However, it emerged today that when the unit investigated it found no sign of hornets, and a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson told us “the photograph was misleading”.
The yellow-legged Asian hornet is a non-native, invasive species that preys heavily on honeybees and other pollinating insects.
A single nest can eat around 11kg of insects in a season - that's tens of thousands of butterflies, hoverflies and bees, hugely impacting the ecosystem.
As of July 31, 82 credible yellow-legged hornet sightings have been reported across the UK this year, with 21 nests found, most of them in Kent and Surrey.
This isn't the first time the species has reached North Yorkshire. A nest was found and destroyed near Langton, close to Malton, last year and there has also been previous activity around Yarm.
The Stray Ferret reached out to DEFRA, the National Bee Unit (NBU) and Yorkshire Beekeeping Association (YBKA) for more details, and only the TBKA replied.
A spokeperson said: "When someone submits a report using the Asain Watch App, it goes straight to the triage team. Beekeeping associations don't get to find out until the NBU become involved. Photos are released on the NBU website once verified."
On August 5, a member of the YBKA got in touch to say: "I've had a meeting with the AHAT Coordinator for Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers' Association this morning - and he has confirmed that the Asian Hornet sighting in Ripon was a false alarm, a case of misidentification which has now been cleared up by the NBU."
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