How dangerous is the Asian hornet really? The expert gives a clear explanation

Tim Adrians, a biologist at the Nature and Forestry Research Institute, was asked on Radio 1: “There is great concern among people about the Asian hornet. Is it a dangerous insect as we sometimes hear?”

“Is the animal really dangerous? It is certainly no more dangerous than an ordinary wasp. Often it is just a perception of danger, a phobia of wasps, or an irrational fear of wasps. But in reality the danger is very limited and the stings are limited to disturbing the wasps. The nest, as “It’s like when you pass through an invisible nest with a hedge trimmer, for example.”

Check the hedge before pruning

“First do a visual inspection of your hedge before you start pruning. You can’t do much more than that. But these animals are certainly not aggressive or insects that will attack right away. On the contrary, they actually behave very well as long as you don’t “You disturb the nest, there won’t be any problems.”

Incidents involving Asian hornets

However, there have been some incidents with Asian hornets in the past year. A man in his 40s from Ham was taken to the emergency room after he was clearing bushes and was attacked. In Leer, a group of pedestrians was attacked. Someone even had to be resuscitated.