Hornets in Carmarthenshire

Following reports of hornets in the Llandeilo area, Nigel Stringer and I went on Friday (20.9.13) to the National Trust property at Parc Dinefwr, on the western outskirts of that town. Here, the NT own an extensive deer park, stocked with fallow deer and white park cattle and where the Trust is doing a first-class job in managing the many veteran oaks and other trees. I managed to get some photos of the hornets - the first live ones I have seen - and they are reproduced below; I was impressed by their large size.
They were quite docile (unless provoked!) and they may be overlooked elsewhere, in spite of their size. In Carmarthenshire, there is an early 1960s record by Chris Handoll from Laugharne and they were next seen by Ken Day at Dinefwr Court in 1999. A 2009 record (with photo) from Llanfynydd is also known of. Additionally, Nigel and I saw one near Edwinsford, north of Talley last Friday.