Guernsey volunteers capture first Asian hornet queens of 2024

Mr Francis Russell said the team "work hard" to get "complete coverage" when setting traps

Two Asian hornet queens have been captured in Guernsey, the States has confirmed.

Officials said the hornets, caught in Vale on Friday and Saturday, were the first to be captured on the island in 2024.

It comes as part of the Spring Queening project, the States said.

Asian hornet strategy coordinator Francis Russell said it was a "busy weekend", with Sark capturing its sixth Asian hornet of the year.

The capturing of the queens follows Guernsey's Asian Hornet Team warning of a "potential increase in Asian hornet activity".

The first queen Asian hornet was captured in a trap near La Mazotte on Friday, with the second being caught in a trap on Les Arguilliers Lane on Saturday, the States said.

Protecting biodiversity

Elspeth Wigmore had been looking after the trap since 2019, when the island-wide trapping programme was introduced, it said.

Mr Russell said it is very "rewarding" when volunteers successfully caught a hornet.

He said the nearby island Sark, which captured its sixth Asian hornet of 2024, increased its number of volunteers to monitor 66 traps.

"Although the traps are effective, we cannot emphasise enough the important role played by members of the public in reporting potential Asian hornet sightings and looking out for small nests made by the queens in a few weeks' time," Mr Russell said.

"Our aim is to ensure that we can keep the populations of Asian hornets as low as possible, to protect public health and the island's biodiversity."

The hornets are a top predator of honeybees, decimating hives and damaging biodiversity, with just one hornet able to kill and eat up to 50 bees a day.

The invasive hornets have been wreaking havoc in mainland Europe and threatening to get a foothold in the UK.