Authorities in Jersey fight rising numbers of Asian hornets
Authorities in Jersey are warning against a significant rise in the number of Asian hornets caught recently.
The island's spring trapping programme, which aims to trap and kill queen hornets in the months before they begin to build nests, has caught a total of 896 queens this year.
This is almost 15x more than this time last year, when only 62 queens had been caught.
Why are Asian hornet numbers on the rise?
Alastair Christie, the chief scientist coordinating the States of Jersey trapping programme, says a variety of factors have contributed to the problem:
Firstly, Jersey had a consistently cold winter - which allowed the queens to hibernate in peace. This was followed by an unseasonably warm and sunny spring over the past couple of weeks and that has encouraged all of the queens to emerge at once.
The recent good weather also puts the island "about two weeks ahead in the season", with warmer temperatures and fewer showers.
The first part of the year has also been characterised by consistent north-easterly winds. It's believed this has allowed the hornets to reach Jersey quickly and more easily from the French coast.
Finally, some nests were located a little too late in the season last year - and queens are now emerging from those, too.
Whilst the spring trapping programme seeks to catch as many queens as possible before they start building nests, volunteers have already found 60 nests - which is 10x more than this time last year.
This suggests some queens have started to build their nests for the summer and will soon be accompanied by worker hornets.
However, the team say the fact that so many queens have successfully been trapped and killed up to this point is a reassuring sign that the problem will not spiral out of control.
Islanders are being asked to keep their eyes peeled for both hornets and signs of their nests, and alert authorities if they find them.
Typically built in secluded areas - such as garden sheds, wood stores, or in the eaves of a house - nests will currently be about the size of a tennis ball, identifiable by a single hornet coming and going.
Catching them now is key to ensuring the problem isn't exacerbated further.
The invasive species team is also seeking volunteers for the programme's next phase - tracking the hornets over the course of the summer.
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