Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the spread of Asian hornets on the welfare of (1) honey bees, and (2) other insect populations, in England; and what action they are taking to prevent the further spread of this invasive species.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.
Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to these insects. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests.
In 2023 a total of 72 nests were located and destroyed, the majority of these were located in the South-East (62). The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, rapidly located and destroyed the nests so we would expect any impacts on honey bee colonies and other pollinators to be small and localised.
From the analysis of nests found in 2023, a number of areas were identified where there is a low risk that Asian hornet queens may have overwintered. To address this, the NBU is carrying out spring trapping and working collaboratively with stakeholders to monitor traps at locations across Kent, East Sussex, Devon and North Yorkshire.
The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action against Asian hornet in 2024 thereby continuing to minimise the impacts on honey bees and other pollinators.
Apr. 03 2024
Source Page: Pest-Specific Contingency Plan for Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax)Found: in this document) is a highly aggressive non-native predator of pollinating insects, including honey bees
Apr. 03 2024
Source Page: Bee Health Improvement Partnership: annual report 2022 to 2023Found: to help maintain the health and wellbeing of honey bees .
Apr. 03 2024
Source Page: Pest-Specific Contingency Plan for Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax)Found: significant harm to our population of bees and other pollinators. 2.
Found: Lessons for government on achieving its net zero and environmental goals
Mar. 25 2024
Source Page: SFI actions for farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural landFound: SFI actions for farmland wildlife on arable and horticultural land
Mar. 25 2024
Source Page: SFI actions for integrated pest managementFound: second and third agreement years.
Mar. 25 2024
Source Page: New guidance to improve biodiversity across government estateFound: through being sympathetic and proactive in operations. 16 Supporting key species and pollinators Natural
Mentions:
1: Robert Goodwill (Con - Scarborough and Whitby) and other pollinators feed on nectar and pollen. - Speech Link
2: Jo Gideon (Con - Stoke-on-Trent Central) Public interest often focuses on the charismatic insects such as bees and butterflies. - Speech Link
3: Daniel Zeichner (Lab - Cambridge) other pollinators”outweigh the likely benefits. - Speech Link
4: Robbie Moore (Con - Keighley) I want to reassure him on that.Pollinators were raised, and we know that bees and other pollinators play - Speech Link
Mar. 19 2024
Source Page: New measures to help protect poultry industry from bird fluFound: Our natural assets such as soil, air, pollinators and so on have suffered over many years through what