JERSEY’S Asian-hornet co-ordinator has issued a rallying cry for Islanders to help with this year’s spring trapping programme – which is “more important than ever” in the fight against the invasive species.
Alastair Christie said that 298 queens had been caught last year in more than 300 traps installed across the Island. A further 135 were caught and killed by members of the public.
He explained that the spring trapping programme was designed to catch the initial wave of queens before they had time to make nests.
He added: “If we had not caught them, what would the impact have been on the nest tracking season? We believe the spring trapping is an important element of the Asian hornet programme.”
Last year the team also dealt with a record 339 nests, compared to 174 nests in 2022, 63 in 2021, 38 in 2020 and 83 in 2019.
Mr Christie said that this year he hoped the number of traps could be increased to 500 and encouraged Islanders interested in helping monitor them to contact him.
“Dealing with a single queen on its own is much easier than what it results in down the line,” he added, describing the trapping programme as “more important than ever”.
Islanders interested in taking part in the spring trapping scheme can contact Mr Christie by emailing asianhornet@gov.je or calling 441633.
