Asian Hornet

First Yellow‑Legged Hornet Nest Found in Oldham

Press Release 15 Sept 2026

Oldham Yellow Legged Hornet

Lancashire and North West Beekeepers update - nest removed following insecticide treatment.

After the confirmed report of a Yellow-legged Hornet on 11 August via the Hornet Watch App, the National Bee Unit inspectors working with local beekeepers located the nest. DEFRA arranged for pest controllers to destroy it and the nest was subsequently removed using specialist equipment from the top of the 25 metre tree on 2nd of September for further analysis.

Beekeepers and nature watchers across the whole region have been on high alert following this sighting, looking for further YLHs by observing hornet bait stations.  

No additional nests have been found in the region, although the NBU continues to follow up on reports of YLH, particularly in the North West Region. 

Beekeepers across the country have supported the BBKA YLH awareness week by wearing yellow socks and distributing YLH identification posters and other publicity materials.

L&NW beekeepers are grateful for the interest shown in YLHs and ask that people remain vigilant. Around this time of year, potentially large numbers of new YLH queens emerge from the nests. Hornets may be seen on large areas of ivy, feeding and preying on pollinators.

Should anyone think they have spotted one, they should take a photo and report it via the App

Best regards

Dave Heaton

YLH lead Lancashire and NorthWest Beekeepers

Date: 2nd September 2026

The first Yellow‑Legged Hornet (Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax) nest has been discovered in Oldham, marking a significant moment for invasive species monitoring in the North‑West. Although individual hornets have been reported in the other parts of the North West region in previous years, this is the first confirmed nest in the area.

This was the first time Yellow‑Legged Hornets have been seen hawking at the front of bee hives and has caused local beekeepers great concern due to the voracious appetite of the hornet for insects.

A member of the public reported a suspected hornet via the Asian Hornet Watch app on 11 August, which was quickly confirmed by authorities. Working alongside DEFRA Bee Inspectors, a small team of local beekeepers successfully tracked the nest on 19 August, locating it high in a tree where it was extremely difficult to spot. The nest was destroyed on 28 August, and specialist tree‑climbers are scheduled to remove it next Friday.

Collaboration Across the Region

The response to this sighting involved coordinated support from experienced Asian Hornet Teams across the North‑West, strengthening the search effort and contributing to the safe and efficient tracking of the nest. Members from Manchester & District BKA and Lancashire & NW BKA are working together to help monitor across the region in the fight against the invasive species Yellow-legged hornet.

Public Asked to Join September Monitoring Week

The British Beekeepers Association is calling on the public to help spot Yellow‑Legged Hornets during 7–13 September, when reproductive hornets are actively mating. A single nest can produce 300 new queens, and in warm conditions more than 1,000 have been recorded.

Identification sheets are widely available, and sightings should be reported through the official apps found in standard app stores. Members of the public must not disturb any suspected nest. Yellow‑Legged Hornets are highly defensive; their sting can be dangerous for people with compromised health, and they can spray venom that causes severe eye irritation. Anyone who inadvertently disturbs a nest should leave the area immediately.

Quote: Dave Heaton, Regional Lead for Yellow‑Legged Hornets

“Finding the first nest in Oldham is a reminder that vigilance matters. The public report was crucial — it allowed us to act quickly with DEFRA inspectors and prevent a potentially large population from establishing. Early reporting saves wildlife, protects pollinators, and helps us stay ahead of this invasive predator.”

Notes for Editors:

A Serious Threat to UK Biodiversity

The Yellow‑Legged Hornet is a voracious invasive predator and poses a major threat to native insects, including honeybees. An average nest consumes around 11kg of dry insects — roughly 100,000 individual insects — during a season.

Accidentally introduced into France in 2004 via a shipment of pottery, the species spread rapidly across Europe after slow early intervention. In the UK, DEFRA follows a strict locate‑and‑destroy strategy to prevent establishment. Incursions typically arrive via shipping or strong winds, with most detections concentrated along the south coast.

As of 27 August, the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) has received further credible reports of Yellow‑Legged Hornets. To date, there have been 157 sightings in 2026, resulting in the identification of 49 nests.

About Dave Heaton -  Lancashire & North‑West Beekeepers Association

Dave Heaton has been a beekeeper for over 20 years and manages around 30 hives in and around Clitheroe. He is Chair of East Lancashire Beekeepers (ELBKA), providing training across Burnley, Pendle and the Ribble Valley. ELBKA is part of Lancashire & North‑West Beekeepers, where Dave serves as the regional lead for Yellow‑Legged Hornet monitoring and response.

Contact dave.heaton@lancashirebeekeepers.org.uk 

We are asking as many people as possible and not just beekeepers, look out for Yellow Legged Hornets during the last week of June, as part of the Invasive Species Week.

(BBKA has some great resources available for schools to help educate children about Invasive Species https://www.bbka.org.uk/News/invasive-species-week Teachers can sign up there, please pass on the link to any teachers you know!)

Monitoring couldn’t be simpler, just watch any source of sugar or nectar for around an hour or so, and report using the eR2 YLH monitoring App as we did in previous years. If you don’t have the app then please contact your branch YLH coordinator email with the location you will be monitoring, postcode or what3words, and they can allocate the area to you and provide a link to the App.

Report the monitoring activity, date and time. Nil results are important, so we can build a historical database of monitoring activity.

Many people are putting the monitoring station on a kitchen windowsill or somewhere in the garden whilst gardening etc. Once a YLH finds a food source it will return on a regular basis, timings depend on how long it feeds for and the distance to its colony.

For reporting an actual sighting, or wish to confirm if something might be a YLH then use the government Asian Hornet watch app to your phone,
available in the Google play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.ceh.hornets&hl=en_GB

or Apple App Store 

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/asian-hornet-watch/id1161238813

Best to download this in advance of the monitoring week or any potential sighting.

We would like to coordinate the monitoring, to try to cover a large an area as possible.  The end of June timing is critical as the YLH’s should be shifting from the small primary nests to the larger secondary nests and will be foraging for sweet sugar sources.

Monitoring can range from just an open dish, however as the bait evaporates quickly many people use a simple wick station, as described in the NBU leaflet below.

Traps can be used, however be careful to avoid killing bycatch. Open monitoring is a better solution if possible as there are reports that traps aren’t terribly effective this early in the season, with less than 40% YLHs entering them. 

https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/assets/PDFs/3_Resources_for_beekeepers/Fact_Sheets/Fact_01_Asian_Hornet_Monitoring.pdf

The some branches are making commercially available bait which can be collected at the apiary sessions, but you can make your own bait, most recipes are a mix of blackcurrent juice and alcohol, wine and beer to discourage honeybees.

There have been 27 YLH sightings so far this year, mainly in the south, and whilst there have been no reports so far in Lancashire, we need to remain vigilant, as there were YLH nests found and destroyed in Yorkshire and Cheshire in 2025.

https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/about-us/beekeeping-news/yellow-legged-hornet-2025-rolling-update-2

Clearly, if you wish to continue to monitor for more than the last week in June please continue to record your monitoring results in the App.

Each Lancashire and NorthWest beekeepers Branch has a YLH coordinator. Contact your branch to find out who. 

Asian Hornet  Team Coordinators Map