Fears of threat from Asian hornets after empty ‘rugby ball size’ nest found in Dorset

Britain is facing an ‘exponential’ spread of Asian hornets, experts have warned, after one of the aggressive insects was spotted leaving a nest in Dorset.

The invasive species, which originally hails from south east Asia, has become increasingly prevalent in parts of Britain and Northern Ireland, particularly southern England.

While most nests are typically destroyed in the summer before eggs hatch,a nest was found vacant in Ringstead near Weymouth, meaning the queens would have already left to hibernate for the winter.

Only one in six are thought to survive the winter, but each nest can hold up to 5,000 hornets.

As many as 50 hornets could emerge next spring to build new nests to lay their eggs, experts believe.

Members of the government’s National Bee Unit arrived in the area after