Tuesday 22 October 2019
On Sunday September 20th, the Asian Hornet Team looked into a reported sighting of Asian Hornets seen in a garden by a resident at Havelet.
It was confirmed that up to 30 worker hornets were seen to be actively foraging for nectar on a False Castor Oil plant (Fatsia japonica).
After early investigation, the Asian Hornet Team believe that there is a nest present in the Havelet/Hauteville area of St Peter Port but it could well be further afield. All land owners and any beekeepers living within a 2km radius of the Hotel de Havelet are asked to look out for any unusual insects visiting their garden. The presence of active, dark coloured insects could prove to be Asian hornets flying to and from their nest. It is worth checking late flowering shrubs such as the False Castor Oil plant as well as hedges and trees for signs of a nest. At this time of year, it is likely that a nest would be larger than a football and may be easier to spot as the leaves are falling. Statistically Asian hornets prefer to nest high up in deciduous trees, however in Alderney and Jersey nests have been found low down in brambles.
Francis Russell, Project Coordinator for the Asian Hornet Strategy, said:
"Queen hornets will shortly be leaving the large nests to hibernate. Any queens that survive the winter will go on to build new nests next year which is why it is so important that any nests are found and dealt with as soon as possible. Over the next week or so, we will continue to set up and monitor bait stations in the Havelet/Hauteville vicinity to track the worker hornets as they fly back to the nest. We would like to thank members of the public and the Guernsey Beekeepers Association for their assistance with hornet sightings this year. It is vital that we keep on top of the hornet problem so please remain vigilant and continue to report any sightings to us."
If a suspected hornet is sighted, the public should take a photo if possible and email it to asianhornet@gov.gg, phone 01481 234567 or contact us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/asianhornets, including the location of your sighting. Information about the direction the hornet flies in is helpful for the Asian Hornet Team who can then start tracking worker hornets back to their nest which can be safely treated and taken down.
