Asian hornets' nest found near South Link in Cork city, minister confirms

A nest of Asian hornets has been found on the southside of Cork city, Christopher O’Sullivan, minister of state at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, has confirmed.

Mr O’Sullivan, a Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South West, told The Echo that the nest had been found “in and around the South Link” road on Wednesday evening.

“This is the very first finding of a nest of Asian hornets in Ireland, but I would ask people not to be too alarmed at this point,” he said.

“The good news is that most of the science will say that the nest has been discovered early enough to further spread of queen hornets who would then potentially go on to establish other nests.

“We strongly believe that won’t be the case, but we will be monitoring it closely.”

Earlier this month, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said it had captured an Asian hornet in Cork, only the second time such a sighting had occurred in Ireland.

The NPWS did not give a precise location, but it is understood that it was close to the location where a nest was discovered this week.

That sighting and capture led to the establishment of the Asian Hornet Management Group, chaired by the NPWS.

In a statement, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said the Asian hornet posed a “significant threat to biodiversity in Ireland, as even a single nest can devastate honeybee populations” but added that the discovery did not pose a significant public health risk.

Mr O’Sullivan said that he believed the quick response had been a success for the NPWS, following an "intensive effort" to find the nest.

“They have had rangers deployed from all over the country to try and finally locate this nest, which they have done, and hopefully in time as well.

“The next steps now are to safely remove the nest and to closely monitor the area so that we don’t have any future incidents,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

He said Asian hornets’ nests contain a number of queens, which would create additional nests once they leave their current one.

However, Mr O’Sullivan said, this did not typically happen until later in the autumn, and he said he believed the NPWS are ahead of that.

“We will now remove the nest and the population of hornets within that nest will be destroyed,” 

he said.

The department said Asian hornets are not generally aggressive, but may sting if provoked.

Members of the public who believe they encounter an Asian hornet are advised to not approach or attempt to capture it, but to instead report the sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre at info@biodiversityireland.ie, with a photograph if possible.

They have distinctive yellow tips to their legs and an orange face.