Saw a huge Asian Hornet in my garden.

equalsql

Damn it was massive and a mean looking mofo. Black and orange. It landed on a a border edging and was only there for a few seconds before heading off. I've never seen a wasp/hornet as big before even compared to those big fat wasps you see in early summer that are looking to build nests.
This was in Stafford.
Reported it on the Great British Non Native Species Secretariat website.
Any of you folks spotted one of these?

ToneControl

Identify & Report Asian Hornet | British Beekeepers Association (bbka.org.uk)

This has some more details for anyone interested
beekeepers don't like them

rze99

We just had a European version in one of the bedrooms. Evil looking biggie. Was. 

Kurtis

My mate got stung on the top of his head and ended up looking like Dan Aykroyd in coneheads. 

TeleMaster

I read they're pretty docile unless attacked and wasps are meant to be worse. But still, no thanks. I'd run away. 

snowblind

Caught one in Cornwall a couple of years back. Don't think of them as big wasps; more like a small drone with offensive capabilities. UK climate is becoming more amenable to these things so give it a couple of years and we'll be guarding our picnic sandwiches with 9mm autos.

oh_pollo

The Great British Non Native Species Secretariat sounds like something out of an Alan Moore comic.

stufisher

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

TheBigDipper

stufisher said:

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

I've seen a few of those in my south coast garden, but it's not an Asian hornet (nor is it real size, thank goodness!) :-) 

TheMarlin

stufisher said:

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

Please tell me that’s an AI generated image….

stufisher

Probably ... but here's a Nat Geo video that shows them at their baddest. It's not the docu I referred to earlier but it's still edifying methinks:

Offset

I think I saw the Asian variety last summer in our Cotswold village.  It didn't hang around long enough for me to properly ID it but it was big, orange rather than yellow and it looked like it wouldn't take much to get it pissed off. 

Maak

TheMarlin said:

stufisher said:

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

Please tell me that’s an AI generated image….

That looks like a plastic toy?  Looking at thickness of the wings, and where the wings attach to the body

TeleMaster

stufisher said:

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

Oh lovely, a new phobia locked.

welshboyo

We had one here in West Wales last week - wife found it in the washing that had come off the washing line - she's managed to get it into a tub (with a lid) and then screamed to me!! Evil looking bastard thing...(the hornet!!) 'kin huge too, seemed pretty docile really but wouldn't want to chance it.

If I'd had my way/chance I'd have killed the bastard with a big mallet...

merlin

snowblind said:

so give it a couple of years and we'll be guarding our picnic sandwiches with 9mm autos.

We have to guard our picnic sandwiches from seagulls using 9mm autos. Brighton sucks. 

merlin

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asian-hornet-uk-sightings#:~:text=There has been 1 confirmed,number and list of sightings.&text=Updated list with the latest sightings for November 2023.&text=Updated the list and number,to August and September 2023.

sev112

If it’s a big mf … then it’s not Asian, they are actually quite small,  the European more docile ones are the bigger ones.

the Asian doesn’t have big yellow bands, more black with a small orange bum

ToneControl

Maak said:

TheMarlin said:

stufisher said:

It could be worse ... imagine one of these bad boys suddenly turns up unannounced  

I remember seeing a documentary and film footage a few years ago about the Asian giant hornet and the factoid I retain is that a handful of these terminators can wipe out an entire bees nest in under half an hour!

Please tell me that’s an AI generated image….

That looks like a plastic toy?  Looking at thickness of the wings, and where the wings attach to the body

First thought I had was the wings look plastic.
Could an insect that size fly???

anyway - who on earth would want one of these?
asian giant hornet toy Promotions (he-jsa.buzz)

equalsql

sev112 said:

If it’s a big mf … then it’s not Asian, they are actually quite small,  the European more docile ones are the bigger ones.

the Asian doesn’t have big yellow bands, more black with a small orange bum

Certainly the one I spotted was black ahd orange. Quite striking actually. Certainly, in all my years of gardening I've nowt seen anything like this bugger.

dazzajl

Had a nest of those evil orange barstards in our house last year. They’re incredibly fast, very noisy, evil and totally unwelcome. That said, once you’ve shut yourself in a room with four or five of them to get rid, wasps start looking really cute.