This has caused some confusion with my readers :). It is one land mass, no water bodies to stop them. The Japanese hornet is a subspecies of the Asian giant hornet. What puzzles me, how come the Asian Hornet has not made it into Western Europe on their own until recently in centuries/millenniums past. The Asian giant hornet inhabits some of the best travel destinations in Asia, which is terrifying if you happen to suffer from apiphobia (fear of bees). The first Asian hornet specimen in Europe was first captured in southwestern France in 2005. Don’t get me wrong. Since its accidental introduction in 2003 in France, the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) is rapidly spreading through Europe. New research suggests the yellow-legged Asian hornet could cost European farmers millions each year in damages and mitigation costs if it continues to spread across Europe. After I wrote about the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) entering Great Britain, a beekeeper living in southern France wrote to me about his five-year struggle with these aggressive bee eaters.Michael Judd, originally from England, keeps ten hives at an elevation of 789 meters (2588 feet) under a small wild-flower-covered mountain near the village of St. Vallier. It came from China in 2004, arriving first in France, and is now present in several European countries, as you can see from this up-to-date map: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, … The pest species has been spreading across Europe over the last two decades and causes havoc to local bee populations, with one adult hornet able to kill 50 honeybees in a day. Asian hornets were brought across to Europe by mistake when a container of Chinese pottery holding the insects entered France in 2004. Since its accidental introduction in 2003 in France, the yellow-legged Asian hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax is rapidly spreading through Europe. The Asian hornet specimen found in Europe was recorded in south-western France in 2005 and the species started to spread quickly. Generalist predator, does not pose a major threat to honeybees. The Asian hornet present in Europe is a different species, called Vespa velutina. It might've migrated from Canada, where … Since then, the invasive species quickly spread to other parts of Southern and Central Europe. Both experts and citizen scientists keep on identifying the new invader spreading all over the Old Continent in the last decades. The Asian giant hornet, a 2-inch menace that feasts on honeybees, has invaded Washington state. The Asian hornet has been making its ways across Europe over the last two decades, with the Channel Islands already reported to have a problem with the insects. It reached the French coast in 2016 and the Channel Islands already have a problem. This has caused some confusion with my readers :). They predatory hornets - up to 1.2 inches long - … Since its accidental introduction in 2003 in France, the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) is rapidly spreading through Europe.

Asian hornets arrived in France in 2004 on a ship from China and are now common across large areas of Europe. For this very reason wasps are protected by law in other jurisdictions.