Vespa-Watch

Vespa-Watch is the Flemish hotline for nests of Asian hornets.

Your reports are useful for the monitoring and research of the species in Flanders. Reports of individual hornets are useful to locate nests.

As the leaves fall, Asian hornet nests become more visible. Nests found now are no longer active, there are no hornets in them. So they do not need to be eradicated. Reporting it is still useful for research and evaluation of eradication measures.

Report a nest or report an individual via waarnemingen.be or inaturalist.org.

Why are Asian hornets harmful?

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is a wasp species from Southeast China. Since 2016, the species has also been present in Belgium. It is an ‘invasive alien species’:

• The species did not originally occur here, but is now rapidly increasing in number and spreading throughout Flanders.
• It attacks honey bees and other native insects that pollinate our flowers and plants.

More info on this page.

What can you see throughout the year?

How do I recognize an Asian hornet?

See identification.

Where have Azian hornets been seen this year?

This map shows the hotspots and observations of the current season.

What to do when you got stung?

See the advise of the poison control center.

More questions?

See the FAQ.