THE ASIAN HORNET nest located last month in Cork City has now been removed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. 

This was the first instance of an Asian hornet nest in Ireland.

Experts were concerned the species posed a risk to native pollinators and commercial bee hives in the area, due to the hornets having the capacity to devastate honeybee populations by hunting them down and colonising their nests.

According to the NPWS, the nest was removed under strictly controlled conditions, following international best practice.

Minister of State Christopher O’Sullivan said that the removal of today’s nest was a “challenging, complex operation”.

The Asian hornet, also known as the yellow-legged hornet, is indigenous to Southeast Asia and is an invasive species in most of Europe.

Concerns mounted yesterday when a second individual hornet was captured elswhere in Cork by rangers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

They began genetic tests to determine whether that particular hornet came from the original nest, or lost his way from a second, as-yet undiscovered nest.

The Asian hornet captured yesterday in comparison with a two euro coin.

More sightings confirmed

There have been more sightings of the Asian hornet in Cork, and an individual sighting in Dublin.

Intensive surveying and track and trace activities are being conducted to investigate evidence of further activity.

O’Sullivan said that he is “aware of further sightings of the Asian Hornet”, adding that “each of these is taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly when reported”.  

Áinle Ní Bhriain, Director of EU and International Affairs at NPWS said that “removing the nest safely was the primary objective of today’s operation”. 

“The nest has now been transferred to the National Museum of Ireland for examination, as this is the first example of an Asian Hornet nest in Ireland. Studying it will provide insights about its origins,” she said.

“We have learned a huge amount about effective responses from this initial phase, drawing from international best practice to track and control Asian Hornet nests.

“All of this is informing and strengthening our response to this Invasive Alien Species of Union concern.”

The NPWS-led taskforce, the Asian Hornet Management Group, will continue to monitor the situation in areas where sightings have been reported. Individual sightings can be reported to invasives.ie.