The giant nest was found in a cemetery (Image: Alan Baxter/Solent News)
A team of bee experts have successfully removed a massive ‘killer’ Asian hornet nest from a tree in a cemetery.
The bee climbers revealed that the nest was teeming with a ‘well-established colony’ of insects and was one of the largest of the 72 spotted across the UK this year. This alarming discovery comes just days after a 77-year-old woman tragically died from anaphylactic shock after being stung by these ‘apex’ predators in northeastern France.
Now, UK bee experts are urging locals living near the hornet’s nest in Southampton, Hants, to ‘walk away’ if they encounter the creature and in case of an ‘attack’, to ‘cover your head and run’.
While Asian hornets are not yet established in the UK, sightings have become increasingly common over recent years. Bee experts were summoned to The Old Cemetery in the port city to tackle what they described as one of the biggest nests found in the country this year.
Experts have issued a warning (Image: Alan Baxter/Solent News)
The team then used bait to trap the killer ‘apex’ predators and track them back to the nest, injecting it with poison and removing it. This discovery came days after a photo of a hornet was first uploaded to the Asian Hornet Watch app, alerting experts.
Alan Baxter, Asian Hornet Coordinator for Hampshire has warned residents living nearby that more of the insects could still be at the site. He said: “Yesterday it was good to see our operation in action.”
“It was one of the biggest (nests) which suggests it was quite a well-established colony. Yesterday it was good to see our operation in action.
“It was about 75cm across. The National Bee unit has left a monitoring station there. We hope for the best and expect the worst so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more but that is purely speculation. If it is a homegrown one then we have got a problem on.”
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