The Asian Hornet

By Rebecca Teare

This year a beekeeper in Kent lost 16 of his 17 hives. The culprit? An invasive non-native species of hornet that has swept through Europe, decimating honeybees and other native pollinators. If we think it’s just a honeybee problem, it isn’t. Asian Hornet’s diet is only 20% honeybees and 80% all other pollinators. The Asian Hornet has now invaded the UK, with over 60 nests destroyed this year by the hard-working National Bee Unit (NBU), the government body responsible for bee health in England and Wales.

A single Asian Hornet nest can eat 12kg of native pollinators! Beekeeping associations are doing their best to support the NBU, but here’s what you can do:

• Download the Asian Hornet Watch app from your App store or use this QR code (below). This will help you identify Asian Hornets vs similar native species to report any suspected sighting. All you need do is to upload a photo and the location.
• It’s vital that we can raise awareness at home and at work. If you are working in any green space, you can play a vital part in alerting the NBU to any sightings. Next Spring, we will be asking members of the public to help us monitor and trap young Asian Hornet queens as they emerge from hibernation, before they can establish nests.
• Lobby government (DEFRA) to request increased funding for the NBU, to help them address the Asian Hornet threat whilst resuming normal honeybee disease inspections.

Thank you on behalf of all our native crawlers and buzzers!

What a lovely afternoon we had at Pelham Plants in August this year!  Thank you Paul and Glenn for being such gracious hosts to our WFGA members and friends.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.  These are some of the photos and testimonials we have received from those attending.

Pelham Plants Nursery is on a delightful independent two-acre site hidden away in a wooded area of Laughton in the Sussex Weald.   Paul’s private garden is a testing ground for new plants and the source of the plant material for the nursery. Whilst there is plenty of interest for most of the year, the colours and textures of the predominantly perennial garden make it particularly worth a visit in the summer months.

Paul Seaborne, the owner of Pelham Plants, is passionate about plants, particularly perennials, and after 15 years of experience with other nurseries, he decided to focus on his own nursery, home garden and his work at plant fairs. This special nursery and garden is a testament to Paul’s great love of plants and the sharing of that experience.

Another stupendous visit with WFGA… a hugely enjoyable, inspiring and informative afternoon. Paul’s ‘ever-changing growing garden’ for Pelham Plants nursery was stunning, his knowledge of plants immense and the chance to visit the plant ‘sweet shop’ was just too tempting! Well done Sarah for making it all happen! – Liddy, former WFGA Regional Manager

It was a lovely afternoon. Thanks for ordering such good weather!  I managed to get a photo of the Rose Chafer Beetle. – J Ashdown

Lovely to see you again and what a lovely time we had at Pelham plants. It was an inspirational tour with Paul who is very knowledgeable and I came away with some great ideas to try out. – L Pickworth

Lovely afternoon at Pelham Plants on Wednesday. Enchanting place, entertaining host and really useful on the perennial front. – B Hicks