Each autumn, as Asian hornet queens prepare to mate and overwinter across Britain, a quiet ecological crisis deepens. Since arriving in Europe in 2004, the yellow-legged hornet has moved steadily northward, dismantling pollinator communities and unsettling the agricultural systems that depend on them. British beekeepers, watching the spread accelerate, are now asking their government to recognise what was once a niche concern as a matter of national consequence — one where public awareness may prove as decisive as any technology or policy.