ISLANDERS are being urged to help prevent a further explosion in the number of Asian-hornet nests next year by reporting sightings during what is now a crucial time of year for the invasive insect.
Following a record-breaking summer, which has seen more than 130 nests destroyed, the new queens will soon start emerging to hibernate before establishing a colony next spring.
Jersey Asian Hornet Group volunteer Bob Tompkins said the group were ‘desperate’ to catch as many nests in the coming weeks. His comments come after the team responsible for tracking the invasive species caught one of their biggest nests ever – weighing in at just over 8kg and close to a metre in width.
‘This is a crucial time because the nests are almost at maximum size and it is at this time when they start producing male hornets which are bred to mate with the virgin queens.
‘We need to find the nest before that happens because it can lead to a number of in-house queens, in addition to the queens that come over from France in the spring,’ he added.
Mr Tompkins said the group do not mind how many calls they get as they want to find as many nests as possible.
‘We are desperate to find as many nests as possible and we would urge people to keep their eyes and ears open for them. I say ears because they make a distinct droning sound and more often than not, we hear them before we see them,’ he said.
