One Planet News: Astonishing range of species found in Asian hornet's gut

1500 prey species found during research study

By Annette J Beveridge

ASIAN hornets which are found across much of Europe have a wide range of prey species on the menu as one recent research study found out.

The European honey bee was the most common species found in the hornet’s gut, but 1400 additional species had also been consumed.

University of Exeter researchers tested Asian hornet samples from France, Spain, Jersey and the UK throughout the hornet's active season. The study used a method known as deep sequencing to identify prey species in the guts of more than 1,500 Asian hornet larvae which eat food provided by the adult hornets.