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A “satsuma” sized primary nest containing 13 Asian hornet eggs and seven larvae has been destroyed, with its discovery noted as showing that the invasive species continues to embed itself into the island’s environment.
A Castel resident discovered the nest on Saturday (May 4) in a shed after seeing a hornet fly out of it.
They quickly reported the finding to the Asian Hornet Team which removed it within an hour.
Hornets have already been trapped in the Vale earlier this year, but this is the first nest find of the year with the insects understood to begin building in early spring.
Asian hornets were first spotted locally in 2017 after migrating from France due to warmer summer temperatures. Large nests can support around 2,000 hornets which can have a devastating effect on native wildlife, particularly bees.
The hornets are also far more defensive of their nests if disturbed.
Pictured: Francis Russell.
A dedicated team has led efforts to identify and remove nests since 2017, and Frances Russell, the project coordinator, noted that the insects have “wasted no time in setting up nests.
“The majority of these early nests that are reported to us are found by the public in sheds and outbuildings, although last year we did have four reported in bird boxes. It is fortunate the nest was found and reported to us urgently as we know that after a few weeks the queen and newly hatched workers will leave the primary nest to construct a larger secondary nest – typically in the treetops not far away but these are a lot more difficult to deal with.”
He called on the public to check sheds and outbuilding to stop scourge of Asian hornets, reporting them as soon as possible.
To protect public health and the island’s biodiversity suspected sightings should be reported to asianhornet@gov.gg, or by telephone on 01481 220110 or 07839 197082.
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