Speaker: Michelle Elliott, AsianHornetAlert.org volunteer and Apiary Manager for Gravesend Beekeepers
Barnsley Beekeepers recently hosted a well-attended webinar on the Yellow-Legged Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) and invited YBKA district associations across Yorkshire, via an email to YBKA chairs, secretaries and YLAH co-ordinators. The session was recorded, and this article accompanies that recording so that members can revisit the key messages or share them across their own branches and wider communities.
The talk, led by Michelle Elliott from Kent, offered a frank and practical insight into life on the frontline. Kent has faced repeated incursions year after year. The discovery rate has risen, nests are appearing in varied habitats, and the effort to contain the spread has relied not simply on beekeepers but on an entire network of volunteers, councils, environmental organisations and local residents. If Yorkshire is to stay ahead of the curve, Michelle’s experiences deserve our attention.
Kent did not begin its journey prepared. The first incursions created a scramble to understand trapping, monitoring, safety, public awareness and how to link effectively with the National Bee Unit. What has emerged since is a set of community-based tactics that can be replicated elsewhere before numbers rise.
Correct Identification: Getting the Basics Right
One of Michelle’s strongest messages concerned the sheer amount of time wasted responding to misidentifications. Most reports turn out to be European Hornets. In fast-moving situations, every misidentified sighting delays response to the real ones. Public identification must be clear, prominent and consistent. In Kent, simple messaging works best: clear photographs, short descriptions, and very visible QR codes linking directly to the Asian Hornet Watch reporting app.
Michelle emphasised that awareness matters most when it is hyper-local. Display posters where people already linger: visitor centres, village notice boards, allotments, farm shops, marina cafés, garden centres, walking routes and canalside moorings. Woodland workers, grounds staff, parish clerks, ramblers, sailors and anglers all encounter the outdoors daily; they are natural early spotters. The aim is to build a “silent army” of observers before an incursion becomes a crisis.
Understanding How Asian Hornets Arrive
The spread into the UK has not been driven by one single path. Hornets have arrived:
• On ferries, hidden inside vehicles
• In freight lorries travelling from Europe
• Inside luggage
• Blown across on coastal winds
• Travelling up waterways, railway lines and motorways as corridor routes
In Kent, particular attention is paid to ports, marinas, haulage parks, motorway service stations and areas where goods are regularly moved in and out. Yorkshire has similar gateways. Each association is encouraged to map its own region and identify the most likely arrival points.
Trapping: Selective, Not Destructive
Michelle spoke candidly about trapping. The goal is not to kill every insect that enters a trap. Poorly designed traps are devastating to native species, including European Hornets, which themselves can help suppress Asian Hornets in certain circumstances. Gravesend Beekeepers and AsianHornetAlert.org have developed selective traps that work on a “lobster pot” principle, allowing smaller insects to leave while retaining Asian Hornets for identification. The bait is enclosed inside a jam-jar “wick station” so that no insect drowns.
This approach matters. If public perception turns against trapping because of concerns about harming wildlife, volunteers are harder to recruit. Selective design enables ethical monitoring and long-term sustainability.
The Role of Technology
To reduce the intensive labour required to watch traps, Kent has successfully trialled camera traps. These small, low-cost devices send images to a phone when movement of the right size is detected. A single camera trap can save hours of daily observation. In areas where we may wish to maintain readiness without exhausting volunteers, camera traps could be a key tool.
Nest Locations: Not Always High in the Trees
Many people assume nests are always high up. Michelle described nests in brambles, compost bins, outbuildings, toy boxes, long grass and even on window ledges. Primary nests are frequently built at hip-height. This is why gardeners, hedge-cutting contractors, grounds staff and rural workers must be included in awareness campaigns. Two minutes of standing and observing before beginning work could prevent a serious incident.
Safety: Quiet but Serious
Michelle did not dramatise the risks, but she was clear: reactions to Asian Hornet venom can be severe, and beekeepers are more likely to experience stronger reactions because we carry bee venom antibodies already. Practical safety guidance:
• Carry antihistamine and a mobile phone.
• Wear a hat and glasses when gardening in affected areas.
• Avoid working alone near dense vegetation where nests could be concealed.
• Do not open hives in high-pressure periods; reduce scent release with solid floors.
For those monitoring traps, a buddy system or check-in system is essential. These are outdoor jobs in fields, woods and margins where phone signal may be weak.
Community First
Michelle returned repeatedly to one idea: the beekeeping association cannot control this alone. Where Kent has succeeded, it is because parish councils, local volunteers, landowners, fruit growers, scout groups, schools and gardeners all became involved. Knowledge is shared, messaging is consistent, reporting is rapid and responses are coordinated.
This is slow, steady, relationship-based work. But it is also hopeful. In Kent, more nests are now discovered early because more people know what they are looking for.
What Yorkshire Can Do Now
• Raise awareness early, before numbers increase.
• Focus trapping in areas where a nest has already been confirmed.
• Map high-risk entry routes: ports, service stations, haulage yards, rivers.
• Share clear ID guidance widely.
• Encourage the public to report via the Asian Hornet Watch app.
• Build local partnerships before an emergency hits.
What we take from Kent is not just practical advice, but a mindset of readiness. The most valuable work is done before the first hornet is seen.
Watch the Recording
The webinar recording is available alongside this article. Whether you keep one hive or sixty, whether you are a committee officer, AHAT volunteer or simply someone who cares about pollinators, it is worth taking the time to watch Michelle’s talk in full. Kent’s experience gives Yorkshire a chance to prepare while we still have time to shape the outcome.
If Barnsley and the wider YBKA region can build strong, local, public-facing awareness now, we stand a far greater chance of keeping numbers low, protecting honey bees and safeguarding our pollinators for the years ahead.