Most challenging year yet, says Asian hornet team leader
TWO Asian hornet nests have been identified, as Guernsey faces its toughest year yet with the invading insects.
Asian hornet team co-ordinator Francis Russell said there had been sightings of hornets confirmed at four other locations around the island.
He appealed for islanders to help by keeping an eye out and reporting any sightings.
‘It’s definitely our most challenging year,’ he said.
‘The good thing is this is the first week of August. We know the queens tend to fly in mid-September, so we have time on our side.’
The team had a successful time spring queening, managing to catch nearly 40 insects earlier this year before they had time to make nests.
But Mr Russell said having seen how bad infestations now were in Jersey, he was confident there would be more in Guernsey.
Over the last three years, nine nests have been found and destroyed.
The first nest to be found this year was near the Imperial Hotel in Torteval.
The oval-shaped nest, about 18 inches across, was about 25ft up in a sycamore tree on an overgrown allotment area.
Mr Russell said there had been a number of reports of sightings from nearby residents and Imperial patrons for the last few weeks. They then used base stations to help track which direction they were coming from. But even then, with the trees in leaf and nests often very high, they can be hard to spot.
‘Damian [Harris, Asian hornet team field officer] fortunately has a sixth sense,’ he said.
The second nest is off Les Ruettes in St Andrew’s. A gardener near Le Foulon spotted an Asian hornet feeding from a tree and reported it. Base stations again helped to identify where the hornets had come from.
The nest was found high up in a sycamore tree on a field boundary. This nest was about 2ft across.
Mr Russell said several nests had been built in sycamores, with Asian hornets seeming to choose the sturdy trees, with their open canopies.
Both nests survived the recent strong winds. A tree surgeon will be inspecting the area in the coming days, as the team look to safely remove them.
Mr Russell said nearby residents and landowners would be contacted ahead of the nests’ removal.
