A southern giant hornet in Thailand
Rushen
Southern giant hornets, a species native to Asia, have been sighted in Europe for the first time, raising concerns about their potential impact on native insects.
Between 2022 and 2023, Omar Sánchez Fernández at the University of Oviedo, Spain, and his colleagues accidentally caught four giant hornets in wasp traps in Asturias, northern Spain.
A genetic analysis revealed that the four female workers they captured were southern giant hornets (Vespa soror).
“Although beekeepers in the area…
