Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to establish a fully (a) funded, (b) staffed and (c) equipped national Asian Hornet Task Force to tackle the threat posed by the Asian Hornet Wasp.

The response to Yellow-legged hornet (YLH) also known as Asian hornet, is carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU has been taking action against YLH since 2016 and has developed a fine-tuned response. In 2024, 24 nests were located and destroyed, compared to 72 nests in 2023. They frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported.

The NBU are able to draw on further resources from wider APHA to manage the impact on other areas of NBU work including taking action on notifiable bee diseases, while continuing to provide an effective response to YLH.

Genetic analysis of hornet samples, conducted by Fera Science Ltd., also aids the response. Results from the analyses of nests destroyed in 2024, have been used to identify areas where there is a higher risk of hornets overwintering. In 2025, spring trapping will be carried out by the NBU in these areas. Although evidence was found that hornets had overwintered in 2023 this is not considered to be strong evidence of an established YLH population.