Shropshire alert as huge hornets found in county
Two "monster" hornets have been discovered in Shropshire in 24 hours, as warnings have been issued to be on the lookout for Asian insects invading the UK.
The huge bugs – one dead, one alive – were discovered in a car park in Shrewsbury and a storage room in Leebotwood, near Church Stretton.
Both were more than an inch-and-a-half in length and those who found them are seeking advice over whether they may be the invasive Asian variety.
The aggressive Asian hornet was first spotted in France in 2005 and fears it may be spreading to the UK earlier this year came true when a nest was found and destroyed by experts in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, in September, followed by a confirmed sighting in the Mendip Hills in Somerset a fortnight ago.
However, the European hornet looks similar and can grow even bigger, though is also rare to see, and the National Bee Unit is asking anyone in doubt to report sightings to help contain any invasion of non-native hornets.
Peter Newton, who works at Full of Beans, which makes bean bags, cushions and sports equipment in Leebotwood, said he found something that might be one earlier this week.
He said: "We work in a coach house building and we have some rooms upstairs for storage. I went up there and behind the security grills on the windows was this giant wasp. I just saw it on the window ledge, it was just huge.
"Because of what I've heard about the Asian hornets I though I can't just leave it, so I just coated it in fly spray and it died pretty quickly.
"There are four of us who work here, myself and three machinists. They all saw it and were quite shocked.
"It's bigger than anything any of us have seen before. It's certainly a contender and needs to be looked at."
Less than 24 hours later, Daniel Davies was cleaning the car park by Matalan in Harlescott Retail Park.
He said: "I was brushing away a couple of leaves when I saw it – it was almost two inches long.
"I recognised it straight away from what I've seen on TV because I was watching a documentary about these hornets killing bees in France.
"It's basically a giant wasp, with a big head. It was dead. I think it's about 50/50 whether it's Asian or European," he said.
