Far fewer hornet sightings in 2020

Sunday 20 December 2020

The Bailiwick’s efforts to control populations of Asian hornets are ‘paying off’, after this year saw a drastic reduction in confirmed sightings of the invasive species on the island.

There were 191 suspected sightings reported to the Asian Hornet Team throughout 2020, but there were only six confirmed sightings, less than half of those discovered in 2019. Three Queens were captured, but no nests were discovered in Guernsey.

The first hornet of the year was discovered on 14 April in St Peter Port, followed by others in the Vale, St Sampson’s, Castel and a late arrival in St Saviours on 3 June. The last confirmed sighting was of a newly arrived queen who appeared at Pembroke on 5 October.

There were only six confirmed sightings in 2020, less than half of those discovered in 2019. Three Queens were caught, but no nests were found in the Bailiwick.

Since 2018, Guernsey’s Asian Hornet Team have been enacting the Asian Hornet Strategy (2019 - 2021) endorsed by E&I, and implemented by Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services. 

Pictured: Bait stations were used this year to proactively track worker hornets and discover the locations of nests.

The first phase of this is ‘Spring Queening’, which aims to capture Queen hornets from March to June, especially during the few weeks in Spring where they live in isolation. There were 270 traps set up across Guernsey alone, all of which were monitored by volunteers.

After this, the ‘track don’t trample’ method was used to track worker hornets, and attempt to locate their main nest, but none were found in the Bailiwick this year. 

A new proactive approach was trialled this year, where sugary ‘bait stations’ were placed across the island in locations based on the usual foraging distances worker hornets will travel from their nests in search of food. These were monitored daily, but no hornets were reported to have used them.

Any Asian Hornets that are still in the Bailiwick will have now entered hibernation, so the strategy has concluded for 2020, and will return once the queens re-emerge in the Spring.

CLICK HERE to read the full report for the 2020 Asian Hornet Strategy.

Pictured top: The Asian Hornet sighted at Pembroke in October this year.