Will 2026 see record Asian hornet numbers in France?
Cold and wet spring may have reduced survival chances for species
Asian hornet nests usually begin appearing in mid-June
Jens Goos/Shutterstock
An expert on Asian hornets working with the Office Française de la Biodiversité has said it is too early to say if there will be more Asian hornets this summer.
Cold, wet and windy weather at the start of May might have knocked back the number of hornets set to build nests.
“We know there were many around in 2025, which with its two heatwaves was very good for them,” Quentin Rome, a researcher at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, told The Connexion.
“There seemed to be a lot coming out of hibernation in the early spring, but until they actually start building nests from mid-June onwards, we cannot predict what the numbers for the summer and autumn will be.
“It is possible that the cold spell in May means some who came out of hibernation do not survive.”
However, a record heatwave at the end of the month may have reversed these conditions.
Fatal stings
Until early June the Asian hornets are usually solitary and live on nectar and fruit – this reporter was stung by one while picking cherries in mid-May.
Their attacks on beehives, which beekeepers describe as “massacres” usually start once nests have been established and larvae - which need to be fed on protein - have hatched.
Mr Rome said there was no information on the exact number of deaths from Asian hornet stings, because it was difficult to distinguish between the venom from wasps, European hornets and Asian hornets, all of which share similar characteristics.
Bees and bumblebees have a different sort of venom, and if someone is allergic to bee stings, they might not be allergic to hornet or wasp stings.
France’s agriculture ministry says between one and five percent of the population is at danger of death from one sting, and that stings from all the hyménoptères, the family of insects which include, bees, bumblebees, wasps and hornets, cause the death of between 10 and 20 people in France each year.
The Connexion has covered several reports of deaths linked to Asian hornet stings in recent years.
Remove nests to minimise threat of return
Mr Rome said it was possible that hornets would return to old nests left the year before, but they would always build new nests on the same spot, sometimes using the cellulose from the old nest.
Property owners are responsible for destroying nests located on their property.
In general, nests should be destroyed by professionals, who usually charge around €100 to do so.
Officials recommend staying away from nests or attempting to deal with them yourselves, as this can lead to further accidents – in May, a man in Haute-Vienne burned down his home attempting to clear an Asian hornet nest.
Information on preventative measures including traps, can be found in our article here.
