Are Asian ‘murder hornets’ coming to the UK?

DEADLY Asian "murder hornets" which kill approximately fifty people per year have made their way to the Western hemisphere.

Sightings of the hornet have been reported in the US, but what does that mean for the UK, are they headed here next?

What are 'murder hornets'?

A murder hornet is a large wasp that kills close to fifty people in Asia every year.

The gigantic wasps, can be found in temperate and tropical climates in East Asia, and are a whopping 4cm long.

They can move quite quickly too, and can reach speeds over twenty miles per hour.

Just like a tiger, the wasps have orange and black stripes all over their body.

What makes them so deadly is that the sting is filled with venom that contains a neurotoxin, which is capable of causing both cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock.

And they are known to decapitate bees.

Are 'murder hornets' coming to the UK?

In April, experts warned that an invasion of the hornets were headed to the UK, and would cost a staggering £7.6million in research alone.

The cost to then get rid of the hornets would cost the country millions of pounds, in an economy which is still dealing with the effects of coronavirus.

The culling of the hornets will also have a devastating impact on the already dwindling bee population.

If you think you have seen any Asian hornets, you can report it by using the Asian Hornet Watch app, which you can find out more about.

Have 'murder hornets' invaded the UK before?

In 2017, one of the large wasps was spotted on a beach in Devon, which was confirmed by the National Bee Unit.

Despite the potential threat it posed, the hornet was successfully contained by bee inspectors.

In 2019, the latest sighting of Asian hornets was confirmed near Christchurch, Dorset, on October 1, 2019, and two nests were subsequently destroyed.

A nest was also found and destroyed in Tamworth on September 2, 2019

Since 2016, there have been a total of 17 confirmed sightings of the Asian hornet in England and nine nests have been destroyed.

How to tell the difference between European hornets and ‘murder hornets’?

Many people may be confused about how to tell the difference between the two different types of hornets.

to help you separate the two, here's a few of their main differences.

• Asian giant hornets are the largest species of hornet in the world, they grow to sizes of 1.5 inches to more than 2 inches, in comparison, the European hornet is only half this size.
• The murder hornets prefer to live in low-altitude forests and mountains and build underground nests.
• You won't see an Asian hornet at night, but you could see its European counterpart, who does fly at night.