A couple who live in Llangrove, near Ross-on-Wye, were horrified to discover a very large hornet in their property last week.

Margaret and David Fernandez took a photo of the hornet, which was more than three centimetres in length. They took the photo to Bees for Development in Monmouth, in the hope that it could be identified.

They were told that the bug, was in fact an Asian Giant Hornet, which that has been featured in the national news recently. They were first spotted in Gloucestershire, but the specialist who identified it told Mr and Mrs Fernandez that he believed it was the first sighting of the Asian Giant Hornet in Herefordshire.

These are the world’s largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. They have a particularly nasty sting, which can cause anaphylactic shock or even cardiac arrest to those who are allergic to bee stings, but the sting can also be lethal to people who are not allergic if the dose is sufficient, the venom contains a neurotoxin called mandaratoxin.

The Asian Giant Hornets are especially bad news for nature too; they hunt and devour bumble bees, whose numbers are already plummeting.

Mr and Mrs Fernandez told the Gazette that they had initially trapped the hornet to take a photo of it, but when they were told how dangerous it was, they finished it off.

The hornets have dark brown or black bodies, bordered with a yellow band, and they also have one band across their abdomen.

If anyone comes across any Asian Giant Hornets, please report it to the Great British Non Native Species Secretariat alert email address at [email protected].

The Ross Gazette contacted Bees for Development to confirm this information but had not heard from them before we went to press.However, local bee keeper Ben Champness contacted the Ross Gazette as soon as he read this week’s paper, as he wanted to alleviate any concerns about the hornet found in Llangrove.Ben, who is a member of the Newent Bee Keepers Association was definite that this was a European Hornet, not the terrifying Asian Giant Hornet. Ben is currently studying for his British Beekeeping Association Module 3 exam which is on Pests and Diseases so he recognised this hornet straight away.He told the Ross Gazette that a member of the club brought an example of an Asian Giant Hornet, which had been found in France, to the club.He said actually seeing one made it very clear how different they are. He added: “The National Bee Unit has an excellent guide at http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=698 where you can check out what type of hornet you have."The Newent Bee Keepers Association hold indoor monthly meetings at the 6th Form Centre of Newent Community School.