BRITAIN’S “biggest Asian Hornet nest” has been found hanging from a ceiling amid fears a new killer bug invasion is just days away.
The huge nest has been discovered in a Channel Islands home as experts issued warnings to the public the problem is spreading.
It was found in a derelict property in the St Brelades district of Jersey and measures about 15in, or 40cm.
The nest is the largest identified on the island this year.
Jersey’s setting in the English Channel is said to help make it the “frontline” for Asian Hornets heading to the UK from Europe.
And officials say this year is the likely to be worst on record for sightings of the potentially-deadly insect in Britain.
The bugs have previously been labelled “murder hornets” for their destructive attacks on other hives.
They not only decapitate other hornets – being the largest of the species – but also bees and wasps, before using the victims’ bodies to feed their own young.
And repeated stings can also prove fatal for humans, killing at least 50 people per year in Japan where the insects are most prevalent.
At least 10 people needed urgent medical treatment in Jersey last month after being attacked by the bugs.
Some 171 nests have been discovered so far this year in Britain – up from 100 this time last year, MailOnline reports.
Alastair Christie, Asian hornet co-ordinator for Jersey’s government, suggested about 1,500 of the bugs were in the newly-found nest.
He described it as “the biggest we’ve dealt with so far this year” and a surprise in such a “beautifully-sheltered” abandoned home.
There are fears strong easterly winds will blow in even more of the hornets from Europe, after sightings last year in southern England.
And Mr Christie urged people to be on the guard, especially gardeners cutting back hedges and branches.
He said: “Destruction of the nests is logistically challenging.
‘They can be found up trees, on cliff faces, inside roof spaces, or within brambles.
“They are in such varied locations, and efficiency and safety have to be prioritised when removing the nests.”
A killer hornet was last week seen decapitating and devouring a wasp in Kent – months after the first sighting in the county for four years.
The insects have also been seen this year in Plymouth in Devon.
The arrival and spread of the species in Europe has been traced to a freight ship docking in the south of France in 2004, in a box of pottery from China.
The first mainland UK sighting was in Gloucestershire in 2016.
A pest control expert has recently shared tips on ways to keep yourself safe from the hornets, who are said to produce seven times more venom than wasps.
