A beekeeper has issued a warning over Asian hornets as nature groups have warned the public of a potential surge in the damaging invasive non-native species. Nicola Spence, the UK’s chief plant health officer, has called for more vigilance to the presence of the hornet after record sightings in the country last year. “We’re really concerned because if this insect gains hold, then our beekepers and pollinators across the country will be at risk,” Stephen Auty told Good Morning Britain on Monday (20 May) as he displayed a trap he is using to catch any queens. The species poses no greater risk to human health than native hornets but threatens honey bees and insect pollinators.