SOMERSET Beekeepers’ Association (SBKA) is giving all its 900 members Asian hornet monitoring traps in readiness for the arrival of the non-native insects which threaten honeybees and other pollinators.

Distribution started at SBKA’s annual lecture day on Saturday (February 16) with members picking up traps to set up in their gardens. Beekeepers are advised to monitor daily and release native insects.

Anne Pike, chairman of SBKA, said: “We consider the arrival of Asian hornets to be so serious that we are spending thousands of pounds to make beekeepers and the public aware of these highly destructive hornets.”

Concerns about the potential for Asian hornets to appear in Somerset come after two nests were found and destroyed in last year in Fowey, Cornwall, and two in Hampshire.

An over-wintering queen, that can found a huge nest of hornets, was spotted in Jersey this month.

In parts of France, Spain and Portugal, Asian hornets have stripped the environment bare of honeybees and insects.