Help asian hornet?

[kez035]

Hi, just to clarify i know they are not SUPPOSED to be in the UK but they definitely are....i'm not the only one who has seen them. I have seen another one this year in my dads garden again. Got a good close look at it and it was without a doubt an Asian giant hornet! It sounded like a helicopter when it flew past me, it was not happy i disturbed it! It was not a European hornet, i know very well what these look like. And going by what other people are saying there have been other sightings of them.

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by kez035

Hi, just to clarify i know they are not SUPPOSED to be in the UK but they definitely are....i'm not the only one who has seen them. I have seen another one this year in my dads garden again. Got a good close look at it and it was without a doubt an Asian giant hornet! It sounded like a helicopter when it flew past me, it was not happy i disturbed it! It was not a European hornet, i know very well what these look like. And going by what other people are saying there have been other sightings of them.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to quote that old internet saw - "Pics or it never happened".

I am not doubting you saw a big wasp, but it was certainly not an Asian Hornet. Going by what other people say (on the internet), one cannot doubt there are yetis, black helicopters or alian abductions as well. None of the "reported" observations of Asian Hornet in the UK have so far turned out to be true, so repeating gossip or hearsay is hardly a way to prove your point. Provide a photo or a specimen, or it never happened.

[eucera]

I was sent a pic only yesterday of an "Asian Hornet" found in Hampshire. Unsurprisingly, it was a Hampshire Hornet, Vespa crabro.

Not a single specimen or bona fide pic of any species of Hornet (other than V. crabro) has ever been found in UK (to date).

Matt is quite right: Evidence is what is required - and this means more than hearsay, gossip, speculation or the word of a friend of a friend

[JRsbugs]

Hey guys, I have the Asian Giant Hornet too!! ROFLOL!!!

Aka Vespa crabro ssp. vexator.. as Stuart and Matt have so patiently been trying to point out, the native subspecies we have in the UK.

This is not the same as the "European Hornet" which has a red head, ours has a yellow head!

Here's my giant of a beast, I see it every year and the queens do look huge but our imaginations can make them look bigger than they really are. Yes they are big, but also chunky, and they make a big noise but they are harmless so please don't kill them!

[eucera]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

This is not the same as the "European Hornet" which has a red head, ours has a yellow head!]

There is one native hornet species in northern Europe - the "European Hornet": Vespa crabro. There are several distinct geographical colour forms of this species across its range, with only Vespa crabro vexator (the yellow headed form) being present in the UK.