THEY have been attacking the Island by air, land and sea since 2016 – but are they starting to win the war?
The number of Asian hornet nests discovered in Jersey has broken the previous record, with months of tracking work still due to be carried out for the 2023 season.
As of yesterday morning, 183 nests had been located, compared to 174 found during the whole of 2022.
This is despite 476 colony-building queens being trapped this season, a significant increase from the 55 caught last year.
Jersey Asian Hornet Group volunteer John de Carteret – a member of the team hunting the invasive species – said there were ‘definitely more [nests] out there’ than were being recorded.
‘What we don’t know is whether we trapped 476 queens out of 500 or 476 of 5,000,’ he continued.
He noted that the group was tackling an average of three to four nests a day – and as many as nine or ten on some occasions.
Mr de Carteret explained that the rise could be attributed to more queens surviving the winter weather than expected, as well as nests that may have been previously missed by trackers.
‘We also know a lot of them are able to fly across from Normandy, which has huge numbers, and they are also arriving by boat in the port of St Helier.
‘So we are under attack from three sides,’ he added.
The invading hornets are a problem for the local ecosystem as they are a proven predator of native insects, posing a threat to honey bees and other pollinators.
Islanders can report sightings of Asian hornets or their nests by emailing asianhornet@gov.je – attaching a photo if possible – or by calling Asian-hornet co-ordinator Alastair Christie on 441633.
