Asian hornets seen near Victor Hugo's home

Anyone living in the area around Hauteville House has been asked to check their gardens for Asian hornets

Officials are looking for a nest of Asian hornets near the gardens of Victor Hugo's home.

The States' Asian Hornet Team said a member of the public reported seeing one of the insects in St Peter Port on 22 July, the first spotted in the island for seven weeks.

The team managed to track its flight path to the area near Hauteville House.

It said further tracking was needed to pinpoint the exact location of the nest so it could be removed along with the queen hornet.

Asian hornets were first spotted in the island in 2017

Francis Russell, the Asian hornet strategy coordinator, said the team would like to hear from anyone living in the area if they believe they have spotted one of the insects.

"We're looking at Victor Hugo's garden around the back of those terraces," he said.

"What we know is that within possibly 500 metres of South Esplanade there will be a hornets nest."

Volunteer 'stung nine times'

Mr Russell said the nest would not be much bigger than a football and could house a few hundred hornets.

He said as many as 2,000 active worker hornets could be in the nest as it grows during the summer.

"Then they're going to be seen in lots of gardens and places," he added.

He said a volunteer from the team was recently stung nine times by Asian hornets in Sark.

"It's a case of being very careful," he said.

"This is the worry that if people are gardening and they haven't had a look around, you've always got to be wary of any insects flying in and out of bushes."

Asian hornets were first spotted in the island in 2017.