Asian hornets that can kill 50 bees every day could invade Britain

Warnings have been issued by wildlife experts that Asian hornets could invade Britain and pose a serious threat to the beleaguered bee population because these species are more hostile than the native hornet and can kill 50 bees a day to feed their larvae. The bee population in Britain is believed to have dropped by a third since 2007.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 29 February 2016.

These Asian hornets had landed up in France accidentally in pottery 12 years ago, and from one nest they spread to Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium. In all probability, these pests could cross the Channel accidentally via imported pot plants, fruit, cut flowers and timber. As cautioned by experts, like all invasive non-native species, once the Asian hornet digs in, it would be incredibly difficult and hugely costly to tackle the menace.
The Asian Hornet has a distinctive appearance – an almost entirely dark abdomen and yellow ends to its legs. It ‘poses a deadly threat to honeybees and other pollinators and any potential sightings should be immediately reported to the relevant authorities.
The Queens build nests in April and rapidly start laying eggs until the hive population reaches about 6,000 insects and, in order to feed the growing population, the hornets start hunting honey bees, chopping them up with their jaws and feeding them to larvae.
The declining population of bees worldwide is a potentially major risk to world food supplies. For some statistics - honey production in the UK fell by 34 per cent in 2015 to 21lbs per colony. This was down from 34lbs the previous year based on a survey of 1,561 beekeepers. Some of the reasons attributed are excessive wind – making it difficult for honeybees to forage.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Didi knows that ghosts have their uses (satire)

‘Make in India’ concept to market Ganga water (satire)

Moody throws light on conversion and smartness (satire)


Loss of bees and butterflies is disturbing the ecological balance

Madhya Pradesh to promote tiger tourism

China wants to fight terrorism in Xinjiang with entertainment, singing and dancing


Quantum jump for Priyanka Chopra from Quantico to Baywatch

Kissing scenes in movies – why this fad has never caught on in Bollywood

British actor Tom Hardy could become the new face of James Bond after Daniel Craig


Airstrikes in Syria target schools and hospitals - nearly 50 children killed

F-22 Stealth Bombers of the US fly low over South Korea skies

North Korea plans to carry out terror attacks on South Korea