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Asian hornet likely to have become established in UK, say experts | Invasive species
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
The bumblebee conservation expert Dave Goulson, a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, said he feared it was likely the hornets had become established in Kent.
He told the Guardian: “It is a bit too early to say for sure but the situation looks ominous, with a record nine nests found and destroyed this year so far.
Goulson added: “The arrival of Asian hornets would provide a significant new threat to insect populations that are already much reduced due to the many other pressures they face, such as habitat loss, pesticide use and so on.”
Matt Shardlow, the chief executive of the insect charity Buglife, agreed with Goulson, saying: “With four new Asian hornet nests being detected in the last week and a strong cluster in coastal Kent it seems likely that the species has colonised England.
The Asian hornet is a risk to biodiversity; in particular it can hunt large numbers of wild solitary bee species.
Nicola Spence, the chief plant and bee health officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “Evidence from previous years suggested that all 13 Asian hornet nests found in the UK between 2016 and 2022 were separate incursions and there is nothing to suggest that Asian hornets are established in the UK.
The original article contains 748 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!