Hi, I live in West Wales and have a fairly large garden with a bramble apple tree and a grapevine growing through it. Just a few weeks ago I was picking up some windfall apples and a bee (I don't know which variety of bee) came at me and stung me on my face. I was really puzzled because I know they are nesting under a conifer in our garden but I was not threatening them in any way. Then about 2 weeks later one of the bees had come inside our conservatory where it seems they love to buzz around our sterelitza plants, this bee also came straight at me and this time stung me on the chest. I find it odd that I have been stung twice this year and have not been stung for years previously. Are these little creatures more aggressive this year? there certainly seems to be more of them about.
Update. Released a hornet from the cafe in Peckham Rye Park today. Luckily I got to it before many people had noticed and scooped it up into my glasses case. The pigeon flapping about in there a few minutes before caused more uproar.
We have hornets visiting our many compost bins. No doubly catching insects but on one occasion I saw a foolish wasp who should have left when the hornet approached and the hornet dropped onto the wasp and whisked her away.
Many more beautiful hornets this year in north Oxfordshire and 2 nests found in our village. A small boy came to my door recently with a very large and alive Hornet in a jar which he'd caught, it having munched a 2cm hole in his dad's pullover whilst hanging out to dry. Has anyone come across such behaviour before?
bloody ridiculous - I am regularly in Dulwich park and it was a joy to see the hornets about - I was very angry when I heard of this moronic knee jerk slaughter.....
I live in France where the asiatic hornets (frelons asiatique) have continued their march northwards after their arrival in Bordeaux from China a few years ago Let's hope they don't reach the UK. They devastate the bee population.
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I live in West Wales and have a fairly large garden with a bramble apple tree and a grapevine growing through it. Just a few weeks ago I was picking up some windfall apples and a bee (I don't know which variety of bee) came at me and stung me on my face. I was really puzzled because I know they are nesting under a conifer in our garden but I was not threatening them in any way. Then about 2 weeks later one of the bees had come inside our conservatory where it seems they love to buzz around our sterelitza plants, this bee also came straight at me and this time stung me on the chest. I find it odd that I have been stung twice this year and have not been stung for years previously. Are these little creatures more aggressive this year? there certainly seems to be more of them about.
I live in France where the asiatic hornets (frelons asiatique) have continued their march northwards after their arrival in Bordeaux from China a few years ago Let's hope they don't reach the UK. They devastate the bee population.
http://www.planetepassion.eu/wildlife-in-france/asian-hornet_vespa-velutina-nigrithorax_frelon%20asiatique_france.html
there is a video here so that you can see them at work
http://www.gurumed.org/2012/01/11/la-vido-du-jour-30-frelons-asiatiques-gants-dvastent-une-ruche-dabeilles-europennes/ (only the version with sound is available now)