British bees ‘too scared to go out’ because of Asian hornet threat

Sarah Dines, the MP for Derbyshire Dales, said many of her constituents had voiced concerns about the species sweeping the country.

She said: “The majority of beekeeping is small scale and many of my constituents are very worried. They have concerns the hornets will sweep across the country and are heading towards the Midlands.”

Ms Dines is trying to raise awareness of the issue in order to keep the population of British bees and the wider ecosystem healthy.

She said: “It is essential that we keep healthy native bees and guard against the horrors of this foreign predator.

“Without natural pollinators how do we produce food for the nation?

“They will also eat any kind of insect and they will have knock-on effects to our ecosystem.”

Ms Dines added: “It is important that people take notice of these bees and are aware of the threat to our pollinators’ these fierce predators represent.

“We need a sensible level of vigilance to keep our honey.”

Nicola Spence, Defra’s chief plant and bee health officer professor, said: “By ensuring we are alerted to possible sightings as early as possible, the public can help us take swift and effective action to stamp out the threat posed by Asian hornets.”