BeeBase News

• Yellow-legged hornet 2026 rolling update

  Please report sightings of Yellow-legged hornets (YLH), also known as Asian hornets, on this online form or download the free Asian hornet Watch app for Apple devices or android devices.

  As of 17/07/2026:

  To view the location of destroyed nests, please visit the map page and choose the Asian Hornet map layer.

  Yellow-legged hornet location information in England and Wales from January 2026 to June 2026

   

  #	Grid Ref:	Location	County	Type	Date initial sighting	Reported by	Links to images / Notes
  1	SE60	Doncaster	South Yorkshire	Sighting	24/02/2026	Member of the public	No sample
  2	TL27	Sawtry	Cambridgeshire	Sighting	13/03/2026	Member of the public
  3	TR25	Nonington	Kent	Sighting	08/04/2026	Beekeeper	Link to image
  4	TR24	Densole	Kent	Sighting	08/04/2026	Member of the public	Found in outbuilding Link to image
  5	TQ35	Oxted	Surrey	Sighting	09/04/2026	Member of the public	Alive in house
  6	TR15	Kingston	Kent	Sighting	11/04/2026	Member of the public	Link to image
  7	TR25	Nonington	Kent	Sighting	11/04/2026	Beekeeper	Caught in trap Link to image
  8	TR35	Sandwich	Kent	Sighting	10//04/2026	Member of the public
  9	SK36	Chesterfield	Derbyshire	Embryo nest	26/04/2026	Member of the public	Link to image Link to image
  10	SU31	Southampton	Hampshire	Sighting	27/04/2026	Member of the public	Flew from conservatory
  11	SK32	Repton	South Derbyshire	Sighting	27/04/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted
  12	SK52	Sutton Bonnington	Nottinghamshire	Sighting	27/04/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted
  13	SU41	Southampton	Hampshire	Sighting	28/04/2026	Member of the public	Flew away
  14	TQ93	Leigh Green	Kent	Sighting	30/04/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted in house
  15	TR24	Coldred	Kent	Sighting	01/5/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted in shed
  16	TR24	Densole	Kent	Sighting	03/5/2026	Member of the public	Flew into garage
  17	TR23	Folkestone	Kent	Sighting	04/05/2026	Member of the public
  18	SY99	Lytchett Minster and Upton	Dorset	Sighting	10/05/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted in house
  19	TQ84	Maidstone	Kent	Sighting	17/05/2026	Member of the public	Insect intercepted in conservatory
  20	SU31	Shirley, Southampton	Hampshire	Sighting	22/05/2026	Member of the public
  21	TR02	New Romney	Kent	Sighting	22/05/2026	Member of the public
  22	TQ94	Charing, Ashford	Kent	Sighting	24/05/2026	Member of the public
  23	TQ82	Peasmarsh	East Sussex	Sighting	27/05/2026	Member of the public	Intercepted in house
  24	TQ81	Broadland Row	East Sussex	Sighting	27/05/2026	Beekeeper	Caught in trap
  25	TQ30	Brighton and Hove	East Sussex	sighting	01/06/2026	Member of the public
  26	TR03	Ashford	Kent	Sighting	31/05/2026	Member of the public
  27	TQ64	Tunbridge Wells	Kent	Sighting	01/06/2026	Member of the public
  28	TR23	Folkestone	Kent	Sighting	08/06/2026	Beekeeper
  29	TQ72	Robertsbridge	East Sussex	Sighting	09/06/2026	Member of the public
  30	TQ94	Pluckley	Kent	Sighting	13/06/2026	Beekeeper
  31	TR34	Whitfield, Dover	Kent	Nest	13/06/2026	Member of the public
  32	SU31	Southampton	Hampshire	Sighting/Nest	19/06/2026	Member of the public	Multiple hornets in an industrial unit. Nest in bird box. Link to image. Link to image
  33	SU40	Dibden Purlieu	Hampshire	Primary nest	23/06/2026	Member of the public	Nest in bird box Link to image
  34	TQ52	Heathfield	East Sussex	Nest	25/06/2026	Member of the public	Nest in bird box Link to file
  35	TQ16	Sunbury-on-Thames	Surrey	Single hornet	05/07/2026	Beekeeper	Intercepted in garden
  36	TR36	Ramsgare	Kent	Nest	04/07/2026	Member of the public	In shed
  37	TR04	Ashford	Kent	Sighting	09/07/2026	Member of the public
  38	TR04	Ashford	Kent	Nest	09/07/2026	Member of the public	Bird box
  39	TR24	Wootton	Kent	Single hornet	12/07/2026	Beekeeper	Intercepted in hive
  40	TR15	Nackington	Kent	Single hornet	11/07/2026	Member of the public	Intercepted in garden
  41	TR25	Godnestone	Kent	Single hornet	11/07/2026	Member of the public	Intercepted in house
  42	TR36	Ramsgate (2)	Kent	Single hornet	14/07/2026	Beekeeper	Caught in trap

   

• Support for Weekend Events

  APHA's National Bee Unit recognise the important role that weekend events play in supporting training, engagement, and education across our primarily hobbyist sector and we are committed to working constructively with partners and stakeholders to maximise the value and impact of these opportunities wherever possible. However, our organisation operates within a workforce model designed to deliver core services across a standard working week. Like many public sector bodies, we must balance finite resources against a wide range of statutory responsibilities and operational priorities. This inevitably limits our capacity to routinely support out-of-hours and weekend activity at scale.

  Where we are able to contribute to weekend events, this is considered carefully on a case-by-case basis, taking into account operational pressures, value for money, and the potential benefits to our strategic objectives. In many instances, our resources must remain focused on critical front-line services and essential functions.

  We fully recognise that this can be disappointing to organisers and stakeholders but remain committed to working collaboratively to explore alternative ways of supporting engagement that are sustainable and effective including strengthening our focus on provision of high-quality training support materials and digital resources. These approaches can often deliver broader and longer-lasting impact than individual event attendance alone.

  

• Husbandry Survey 2026

  A randomised sample of beekeepers registered on BeeBase will shortly be contacted via email and asked to complete a short survey.

  Beekeepers are selected at random and reflect the overall proportion of hobbyist and commercial beekeepers registered on BeeBase in England and Wales. Only beekeepers who are subscribed to email updates and listed as ‘current’ will be contacted. Please note: due to the lead time required to deploy the survey, beekeepers who have amended their status in the previous month may still be contacted.

  Monitoring husbandry practices and colony losses provides important information on the health of our honeybee population. Answers will be of great value monitoring UK beekeeping practices and to help target beekeeper training. Answers provided may also be used in future research.

  Summaries and reports of previous year’s results can be found here: NBU surveys » APHA - National Bee Unit - BeeBase

• Update on small hive beetle in Italy

  On the 8th June 2026, Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) was confirmed in an apiary in the province of Latina, Lazio region, central Italy. This represents a new detection outside the previously affected areas of southern Italy.

  Surveillance data show one positive apiary in Latina, and a positive sentinel apiary reported in Sicily. Ongoing monitoring continues in affected regions.

  The new location is more than 400 km from the original established area of infestation in Calabria, as shown in this map from the Italian authorities. This indicates a significant geographical jump and suggests long-distance movement rather than natural spread.

  Italian authorities have initiated control measures in line with EU requirements, including enhanced surveillance in the surrounding area and restrictions on the movement of bees and beekeeping equipment.

  The UK has suspended the import of bees, apiculture products and used beekeeping equipment into Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from the regions of Lazio, in addition to those measures already in place for Sicily and Calabria. These special measures apply to Lazio, Italy from 13 June 2026 and will continue to apply until they are revoked or amended: for further details, please see the GOV.UK guidance.

  Beekeepers are reminded of the importance of maintaining good biosecurity and remaining vigilant for signs of small hive beetle, particularly when sourcing bees or equipment. Further information about SHB is available on BeeBase.

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