Guernsey’s Asian Hornet Team are appealing to the public for their support in tracking down two nests in the north of the island.
It is believed that one is located in St Sampson’s and another in the Vale.
Coincidently, this message comes at the same time ‘Asian Hornet Week’: a time when everyone across the British Isles is reminded to be vigilant in looking out for this invasive non-native species.
The indications that there is a currently undetected nest in the Vale was confirmed at the end of August after two hornets were seen hawking in front of beehives in a garden off Le Petit Axce. More recently over the past weekend, three more sightings of hornets were verified around Sandy Lane, Les Petites Mielles, Les Salines Road area. Two of these insects were found inside buildings which is unusual for this time of year.
The Team have responded quickly in setting up several hornet monitoring bait stations in the vicinity where the hornets were spotted. These work by attracting hornets to the sugary bait.
Once hornets are seen to be returning to bait stations the team can begin visually tracking hornets back to their nest.
Over the coming days the Asian Hornet Team are asking for the public to assist them in locating the elusive nests.
Francis Russell, Project Coordinator of the Asian Hornet Strategy, commented: “Ever since these highly invasive insects arrived on our island in 2017 the support from the public has been essential in keeping on top of these pests.”
“With the prolonged period of cold weather in the spring, we suspect nests may be delayed and therefore smaller than usual this autumn which means that there will be less worker hornets out foraging. When it comes to locating the nest, this makes it more challenging which is why we are appealing for help.”
“We would ask residents living around the areas of the recent sightings to remain vigilant and report anything they suspect might be an Asian hornet directly to us.”
“There are a number of ‘lookalikes’ around at the moment, such as the hornet mimic hoverflies, so it is important to try to take a photograph for us and report which direction the insect flies. Please do not kill any suspected hornet as we need them alive to find the nest. Email your sighting details and photo to [email protected] or call 07839 197082.”
Hornet nests may be sited anywhere from tall trees to lower down in hedges or brambles so the advice to all gardeners and contractors is to check carefully for signs of activity before you cut back hedges or vegetation.
For useful identification guides and more information about Asian hornets and the Strategy, please click here.
