Experts issue warning over concerning spread of rare hornet species: 'Highly aggressive'
British officials are sounding the alarm after a rare invasive hornet was spotted in England recently.
According to The Northern Echo, residents of County Durham have spotted the yellow-legged Asian hornet in the area, the first time the insect has been seen in the region this year. Only one yellow-legged hornet had been seen in Durham previously, when one was spotted in Northumberland in 2023.
The person who spotted the hornet was not able to catch it, leading to fears that it could nest in the U.K.
The yellow-legged Asian hornet is a "highly aggressive" invasive species of hornet that has been spreading like wildfire across parts of France since 2004 when they were first found there. Currently, there are over 500,000 nests in France.
Native to Southeast Asia, the yellow-legged hornet poses a serious threat to many pollinators in the U.K., particularly honeybees. While they aren't any more dangerous as individuals than your standard issue wasps or hornets, their nests can house thousands of wasps, and they become incredibly aggressive when those nests are disturbed. Attacks have led to injuries and deaths in Europe, according to The Northern Echo.
When non-native, invasive insects like the yellow-legged hornet are introduced to a new ecosystem, like the one in the U.K., they pose a serious threat to the insects that are native to that ecosystem because they have no built-in defenses. In this case, the hornets' aggressiveness poses a threat to pollinators that have no way to defend themselves, and letting them spread uncontained could see swathes of pollinators wiped out. This, in turn, could have a dramatic effect on the plants that rely on these insects for pollination.
The U.K.'s National Bee Unit has deployed hornet traps in Durham and the surrounding areas, and local yellow-legged Asian hornet teams have their eyes peeled for more of them or evidence of potential nests.
Authorities encouraged locals to keep their eyes open as well but to approach any situation involving the hornets with caution.
"Please take care and remain calm when photographing hornets," the National Bee Unit advised. "Do not disturb or provoke a nest under any circumstances."
Should we be actively working to kill invasive species?
Absolutely
It depends on the species
I don't know
No — leave nature alone
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
On This Day, June 28: Biscayne National Park established in Florida
On this date in history: In 1778, the Continental Army under command of Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Monmouth, N.J. A pair of saddle pistols used by the Marquis de Lafayette during the battle fetched nearly $2 million at a 2002 auction. In 1838, Victoria was crowned queen of England. She would rule for 63 years, 7 months. In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, an act considered to have ignited World War I. In 1919, World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI In 1969, the clientele of a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, rioted after it was raided by police. The event is considered the start of the gay liberation movement. In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of public funds for parochial schools was unconstitutional. In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that no more draftees would be sent to Vietnam unless they volunteered for service in the Asian nation. In 1980, Biscayne National Park, previously a national monument, was established by an act of Congress. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and offshore barrier reefs in South Florida. In 1997, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of one of heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield's ears during a title fight in Las Vegas. In 2007, the American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list. Officials of the Interior Department said the eagle, which had been declared endangered in 1967, was flourishing and no longer imperiled. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI In 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, rousted out of bed in the middle of the night by soldiers, was forced from office and into exile in Costa Rica in the culmination of a bitter power struggle over proposed constitutional changes. He was in exile for more than a year. In 2011, the International Monetary Fund's executive board named Christine Lagarde chairwoman, the first woman to lead the organization. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the new healthcare law known as the Affordable Care Act. In 2016, militants opened fire and set off explosions at Turkey's Ataturk Airport, killing 45 people and leaving more than 230 injured. Turkish officials blamed the Islamic State. In 2018, five people -- four journalists and a sales assistant -- died after a gunman opened fire at the Annapolis, Md., office of the Capital Gazette newspaper. In 2022, Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking scheme. In 2023, South Korea scrapped its traditional age-counting system, instantly reducing the age of citizens by one or two years in a move to align with international standards and reduce clerical headaches. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that enforcement of camping regulation laws against homeless people does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment banned by the Eighth Amendment.
Boston Globe
15 hours ago
- Boston Globe
MFA returns two Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
'As custodians of these exceptional objects for the past 12 years, it is deeply gratifying to see them returned to their rightful owner,' he said in a statement. Advertisement A ceremony at the Nigeria House in New York, pictured from left: Ambassador Abubakar Jidda, consul general of Nigeria; Victoria Reed, the MFA's senior curator for provenance; Pierre Terjanian, the MFA's chief of curatorial affairs and conservation; Ambassador Samson Itegboje, of the Nigerian embassy; MFA Director Matthew Teitelbaum; Prince Aghatise Erediauwa; Dr. Arese Carrington. Andy Henderson/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The restituted works, a 16th or 17th century Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The plunder quickly made its way to the art market and scores of museums across Europe and (to a lesser extent) the US. The bronzes, viewed by many as an exemplar of colonial-era excess, have become a cause célèbre in recent years, with many museums returning or pledging to return them to Nigeria, where the palace has called for their return. (The Benin kingdom is distinct from the modern country of Benin, which borders Nigeria). Advertisement The collection has been That put the MFA in the difficult position: It only had clear title to five of the artworks, so it was trying to negotiate an agreement with the palace for a collection the vast majority of which it did not yet fully own. 'It's really not appropriate for us to bring them into the collection,' Victoria Reed, the museum's senior curator for provenance, told the Globe earlier this year. 'But that means that we do not own them, and therefore we don't have control over them.' The MFA returned this relief plaque Friday, which can be traced directly to the 1897 raid. Relief plaque showing two officials with raised swords, c. 1530‑1570. Royal Bronze‑casting Guild (Igun Eronmwon) Copper alloy. *Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Robert Owen Lehman Collection. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston But the museum's efforts abruptly ran aground this spring, when Lehman, an award-winning filmmaker, 'We're all sad in contemplating this outcome,' Teitelbaum said at the time. 'There's no moment of celebration or resolution that feels fully satisfying.' Reached by phone Friday, however, he said Lehman's retraction freed the museum's hand. Advertisement 'It opened up another set of conversations,' said Teitelbaum, who described the ceremony as a 'powerful day.' 'This is the result.' The two restituted works can be traced to the 1897 raid, said Reed. The commemorative head is recorded on the London art market in 1899, when it was sold with other looted artworks from the kingdom. The relief plaque passed through the Crown Agent of the Niger Coast Protectorate (the British protectorate state, whose forces led the raid), who sold it in 1898. This commemorative head was sold along with other looted works on the London art market in 1899. Commemorative Head, 16th–17th century. Terracotta, iron. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The artworks soon entered England's Pitt-Rivers Museum; Lehman acquired them years later when portions of the collection were sold. 'I'm am never going to say that we have 100 percent certainty about anything,' she said by phone from New York. 'But based on the available evidence, How likely is it that these were not looted? I think very, very small.' Prince Aghatise Erediauwa called the ceremony a great event, adding that the Benin royal court expected other museums 'to do the right thing.' The 'MFA has joined in showing the world that the restitution of looted heritage works is not at the pleasure of whoever is holding them,' he said via WhatsApp. 'It is the ethical and legal thing to do.' Dr. Arese Carrington, a member of the MFA's board of advisors, orchestrated the transfer. Following the ceremony, Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments plans to take possession of the bronzes and deliver them to Omo N'Oba Ewuare II, Oba, or king, of Benin. Reed is still researching the provenance of the three bronzes that remain in the museum's collection. She said that while they can be traced to the American and European art markets in the second half of the 20th century, it remains unclear when and how they left Africa. Advertisement 'There are large gaps in their provenance,' she said. 'We're going to try to fill' them. Malcolm Gay can be reached at
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK-wide 2021 census data published for first time
A full set of UK-wide data collected for the 2021 census has been made available for the first time. Many details from the census have already been released, revealing a wealth of population information about the country's nations, regions and local areas. But a complete picture for the whole of the UK has only now been published. The delay in producing a set of UK-wide statistics is due to the unusual circumstances in which the 2021 survey took place. A census of the population has been held regularly since 1801, typically every 10 years and on the same day across the UK. The 2021 survey was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, however. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the census occurred as planned on March 21 2021. But in Scotland it was postponed for 12 months because of the impact of the pandemic, eventually taking place on March 20 2022. This meant that, unlike for previous censuses, data had not been collected on the same date across the whole of the UK – and therefore Scotland's data was not directly comparable with that for the other nations. To solve this problem, the UK's statistical agencies have come together to create a full set of census numbers with a shared point in time of March 21 2021. Scotland's 2022 census data has been adjusted to create notional estimates for 2021, which have then been combined with the actual 2021 totals for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The three agencies involved – the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency – describe it as 'a solution that is conceptually simple, pragmatic, and creates numbers for a consistent time point'. The new figures show for the first time how key population trends such as religion, ethnicity and marital status compare in the four parts of the UK. For example, while 80% of the population of Northern Ireland on census day identified as Christian, the equivalent figures for the rest of the country are much lower, at 46% in England, 44% in Wales and 40% in Scotland. Some 17% of people in Northern Ireland said they had no religion, rising to 37% in England, 47% in Wales and 50% in Scotland. The proportion of people identifying as white was highest in Northern Ireland (97%), followed by Wales (94%), Scotland (93%) and England (81%). England has the highest proportion of people identifying as Asian (10%), then Scotland (4%), Wales (3%) and Northern Ireland (2%), while the figures for people identifying as black were 4% for England and 1% for the other three countries. There is less variation in the proportion of people who were married or in a civil partnership on census day, with 44% for Scotland and Wales, 45% for England and 46% for Northern Ireland. The figures for people who are divorced or who have had a civil partnership dissolved range from 6% in Northern Ireland to 10% in Wales, with 8% for Scotland and 9% for England. Census results are used by a variety of organisations including governments, councils and businesses, and underpin everything from the calculation of economic growth and unemployment to helping plan schools, health services and transport links. Planning is already under way for the next UK census, which is due to take place in 2031.
