Asian hornet nest found in residential area in Guernsey

The Asian Hornet team said it was "extraordinary" the large nest was found in a built-up area of St Sampson

A large Asian hornet nest in Guernsey has been removed from a tree in a residential area after a week-long search.

The nest in St Sampsons was the first to be found in a built-up area, the States of Guernsey's Asian Hornet team said.

It was around 10m (33ft) up in a sweet chestnut tree in Clos Des Sablons.

The nest was found with the help of people reporting sightings and tracking returning worker hornets

The nest was removed on Monday from around 10m up a tree

All residents within 100m (330ft) of the nest were warned of the removal on Monday and were warned to keep their windows and doors closed, the team said on Facebook.

Francis Russell from the Asian Hornet team said the nest being found in such a residential area was "extraordinary".

He said: "It goes to show that these insects are quietly going about their business all summer long and hardly anyone would know about it. "

A system to capture Asian hornet queens was launched in 2019

Mr Russell said the timing for finding and taking down these nests was important as Autumn was when they started producing hundreds of new queens.

He added the team was focusing searches on the area around the nearby Le Petit Axce, where they "strongly suspect" there was still a nest to find.

Asian hornets are an invasive species which first arrived in Guernsey in 2017.

They cause significant harm to biodiversity as predators of native insect populations, such as bees.

A system to capture queens was launched in 2019, with just two found and destroyed. No nests were found in 2020.

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