On Friday 22 October, the Asian Hornet Team successfully treated and removed an Asian hornet nest which has been eluding detection since August.
The nest was finally located in a garden tree just off L’Ancresse Road, Vale.
The Team suspected a nest was located in the Vale due to reports in the area by beekeepers. Through the continued vigilance of volunteers, the Team were finally able to home in on its location after a worker hornet was spotted visiting a volunteer’s sugary bait station on La Mazotte.
The hornet was tracked and a flight line leading directly west was established. The Team acted quickly and removed the nest the next day after the storm had passed.
Francis Russell, Project Coordinator for the Asian Hornet Strategy, commented: “We are very relieved to have finally located and destroyed this nest that has kept us guessing for nearly two months.
“We’re hopeful that when we come to examine the nest in the laboratory we will find that it had not yet had a chance to disperse next year’s generation of queens. With any luck, it was found in the nick of time. The nest will be treated and removed during the day tomorrow (Thursday).”
Francis added: “On Monday afternoon I confirmed another sighting of an Asian hornet at a beehive in Les Salines Road. I put up a bait station the same afternoon and by Tuesday morning this had attracted three actively feeding workers that were returning every 10-12 mins that indicated a nest in a south-westerly direction from the property. On Wednesday morning my colleague Damian Harris (who had also responded to reports from another beekeeper on Douit lane on the Tuesday) tracked workers from the south and located the nest in a sallow scrub in Les Annevilles/Rue a Chiens.
“This has been a very active year for the Team with 10 queen hornets caught on Guernsey during the Spring Queening phase of the strategy (April – June), 2 small primary nests found during the crossover between phases and 2 large secondary nests found during the Track Don’t Trample phase (June – October).
“The Asian Hornet Team would like to thank everybody who has got involved in helping us with this ongoing threat to our native wildlife. Public engagement is essential for our success, which is clearly demonstrated by the events of this year.
“We would also like to thank Treevolution for supporting us in this technical work and for fitting us into their schedule at late notice to help us remove nests quickly and efficiently.”
It’s possible that these are the last nests to be found on Guernsey this year, owing to the lack of reported sightings anywhere else on the island. However, it is always a possibility that a hornet nest has gone undetected and therefore the Team can still be contacted if anyone has a potential sighting to report.
