Guernsey Asian hornets alert after beehive sightings

The hornets were spotted around a beehive and may be close to their nest

A sighting of two Asian hornets in Guernsey has sparked a search for their nest.

Guernsey's Asian Hornet Team hopes traps will allow them to track the hornets to a nest after sightings in a garden on Le Petit Axce in the Vale.

The invasive species comes to the Channel Islands from France in spring, posing a threat to local biodiversity.

Most nests are found within 500m (547 yds) of where hornets are seen foraging said the team on Facebook.

Francis Russell from the team said he was "confident" the nest would be found after the sightings on 28 and 29 August.

"It is enough to know that there is a nest not too far away," he said.

The team has dealt with two other nests this year along with a number of individual hornets.

The first sighting of an Asian hornet in Guernsey was in 2017 and the following year saw eight nests found and destroyed.

A system to capture queens began in 2019, with just two nests found and destroyed. No nests were capture queens began in 2019.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].