A queen Asian hornet has built a nest at a roadside cafe as experts warn sightings must be reported immediately.
The invasive species was spotted at Krusties Cafe off the A260 in Adisham near Canterbury at the beginning of last week.
Boss Paul Jeffries told KentOnline: “We’ve reported it to the relevant authorities and we’ve been told don’t even attempt to take it down, which we won’t.
“It looks like she’s building her nest, waiting for a partner, but we are in a quandary about what to do as we don’t want to leave it too long and have a bigger issue.
“It definitely needs to be done professionally, I can’t do it myself so hopefully it’ll be sorted soon.
“We discovered it at the beginning of last week but only over the weekend did we find out it was a queen.”
Anyone who sees one of the stinging insects is urged to report it through the Asian Hornet app.
They have a dark brown or black velvety body, with a characteristically dark abdomen and yellow-tipped legs.
While the Asian hornet poses no greater risk to human health than native wasps and hornets - they do pose a huge risk to honey bees and insect pollinators.
It has prompted a stark warning this week from the UK’s chief plant health officer professor Nicola Spence.
She urged the public and beekeepers to remain vigilant and report any suspected sightings as the UK goes into summer.
Last year the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit attended every credible sighting reported, locating and destroying 72 nests in 56 locations with the majority of nests found in Kent.
Sue Knights, Asian hornet coordinator for the Kent Beekeeping Association, previously told KMFM: “The Asian Hornet is an invasive species.
“It has arrived across the channel from France and is causing problems concerning pollination and honey crops.
“This year we are concentrating on trying to find queens so that they can be destroyed and also hopefully not build new nests this year.
“If they do build new nests this year then our job will be to find them and eradicate them.”
The queens will have been hibernating over winter, experts say, but as the weather warms up they will become more active.
Mrs Knights continued: “When the temperature reaches between 12 and 14 degrees for at least three days, the queens will awake from hibernation.
“They will then build what we call a primary nest, very much akin to a wasp.
“It would be about the size of a tennis ball and they're normally in very sheltered places like the inside of shed roofs, porches, that sort of thing.
“Then the queen will then build the workforce and eventually when she's got enough of a workforce, they will then build what's called a secondary nest.
“These can be up to a metre in width.”
