Asian hornet sightings soar in Kent

According to the British Beekeepers Association, a record 144 hornet nests have been found nationwide so far this year

Asian hornets can "decimate" bee hives a Kent beekeepers' association has warned, after it was revealed that nearly 110 hornet nests have been found and destroyed in the county this year.

Sightings of this invasive, non-native species, also known as a yellow-legged hornet, have been growing in recent years.

Asian hornets feed on insects and are a threat to bees, because they like to feed bee grubs and dismembered adult bee thoraxes to their young, beekeepers say.

Julian Newton, from the Laddingford and District Beekeepers Association, said 2025 had been "our worst year both for sightings and nests [of hornets]".

He said: "This is not a bee keeper problem, this is a pollinator problem - they eat any flying insect...our solitary bees and bumblebees are already under environmental pressures, this is just an additional one."

According to Mr Newton, the Asian hornet diet consists of "60-70% honeybees".

"If they find your hive, they can decimate it," he said.

Beekeepers are employing various methods to try to address this problem, including creating traps that are designed to only catch hornets.

Julian Newton from Laddingford and District Beekeepers Association

Michelle Elliott from Asian Hornet Alert, who also acts as the Asian Hornet Action Team co-ordinator for Gravesend, said increased public awareness was helping to tackle the problem.

She said: "In Gravesend we've actually had nests for three years running.

"The community have been incredibly helpful in helping us monitor, and that is the key to this situation - it is the public being involved and helping us by being our eyes."

According to the British Beekeepers Association, a record 143 nests have been found and destroyed nationwide in 2025. Last year this number stood at 24.

Kate Wilson, head of the Animal and Plant Health Agency's National Bee Unit, added: "Our National Bee Unit takes swift action to stamp out the threat yellow-legged hornets pose on our much-loved honeybees.

"Our highly skilled staff work around the clock to destroy nests."

Anyone who sees a nest is encouraged to report it via the Asian hornet watch app.