Asian hornet nest removed from tree in St Saviour’s

It was found in a field off Route des Piques in St Saviour’s last week and was treated by the Asian hornet team on Wednesday.

They then removed the nest and froze it for 24 hours, as a precaution, to destroy any larvae that the pesticide might not have affected.

The nest was located between 10m and 12m up a sweet chestnut tree on the edge of a paddock.

It was accessed using a cherry picker to assist Damian Harris, field and research officer for the Asian hornet team.

This is the first secondary nest found on Guernsey this year following a period of 10 weeks in which there were no positive sightings of Asian hornets.

The team was first alerted to the presence of a nest in the area when a beekeeper near St Saviour’s Church reported seeing hornets that were attracted to her hives.

The nest was eventually located some 520m to the east and was detected by observing the flight patterns of worker hornets attracted to strategically placed bait stations set up and monitored by the team.

Asian hornet strategy project coordinator Francis Russell said they were pleased the nest had been successfully treated and taken down.

‘It was quite a small one, about 1ft/30cm in diameter,’ he said.

‘The next stage is to examine it carefully to see if there are any signs that new queens are being raised. These queens would shortly be leaving their nest to go into hibernation, so we hope that we have caught this nest before that happens. Over the next week or so, we will continue to monitor the bait stations set up in the vicinity to be certain that there is only the one nest.

‘There have been no other confirmed sightings of Asian hornets anywhere else on the island at this time. However, it is always important that the public remain vigilant, so please continue to report any sightings.’

Most of the sightings received this year were of native insects such as the hornet mimic hoverfly and therefore the public are encouraged not to kill the insects that they find.

If a suspected hornet is sighted, contact the Asian hornet team by emailing asianhornet@gov.gg or calling 234567. Islanders are asked to include a photo and the location of their sighting.

Information about the direction the hornet flies in is helpful for the team, which can then start tracking worker hornets back to their nest.

A States of Guernsey Asian hornet team Facebook page has been established to provide regular updates and information.

Last year eight nests were discovered in Guernsey and removed. The hornets are a problem because they hunt other insects such as honey bees.

Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services thanked the landowner for their assistance in tracking down the Asian hornets’ nest and for allowing access to their property.