They made a secret entry hidden in a shipment of Bonsoi Pottery from China. This was in 2004. Today, Just two years later, they have colonised over an entire extensive large swath of South western France.They have brown and yellow complexion, make whirring sound like a two-wheeler scooter and eat live bees. They are Vespa velutina, the
hornets from Asia. Jean Haxaire,an amateur entomologist was the first to identify this invasive species and he found this uninvited
expansion amazing. What was more
amazing was the likelihood of the expansion spreading to cover a large region of southern Europe. Jean Haxaire spotted the Asian hornets in Lot-et-Garonne in November 2005 and later found that they were already in the Les Landes, Europe’s largest forest, which runs along southern France’s Atlantic coast. The extent of the spread can be imagined from the fact that one observer found over 85 hornets’ nests along a 60 kilometre stretch of road.This sighting evidently proves that the Asian
hornet has not only acclamatised well but has also multiplied fast. But what are Asian hornets like?The Asain hornet is a smaller version of Western Europe’s only native species of hornets viz the Vespa carbo and is mostly found in northern India, Bhutan and parts of China. It is reddish brown with a single yellow strip down its back. A worker hornet is between 2 and 2.5 cm. long, while the queen hornet is slightly longer. Is there a danger of their stinging? No. Though they make a lot of buzzing sound, they are not particularly aggressive or dangerous. In fact, Asian hornets shy away from people. If a group is picnicking, the hornets will never buzz around them and cause distress or fear. There is a strong belief that three hornet stings prove fatal. No it isn’t true. However, the Asian hornet might pose a threat to the
local bees. As the Asian hornets can hardly be eradicated from their new home ground in Europe, it becomes necessary to study the effect of their presence on the local bees.
More reviews about the Asian hornets make home in Europe