Sir, – In "Space invaders: the alien species that cost us millions" (March 5th), you incorrectly identify the European hornet (vespa crabro) as a "large Asian hornet".
The hornet you mean is the Asian hornet (vespa velutina), which is slightly smaller than the native European species, but significant in being a voracious predator of the honeybee (apis mellifera). They now rival the varroa mite as the bee-keeper’s biggest foe.
Hornets do not occur in Ireland. The horntail (urocerus gigas) is sometimes mistaken as a hornet but is a completely harmless sawfly. – Yours, etc,
Dr PAT McCLOUGHAN,
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Dublin 2.