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A Jersey specialist spotted an "exceptionally large" Asian hornet nest in Sark last week at a "crucial time" – with 750 queens set to emerge from the nest in the next two weeks.
The 50cm by 70cm nest was discovered by Chris Isaacs, one of a group of Jersey scientists on a boat travelling from Guernsey to attend the Inter-Island Environment Meeting in Sark.
The nest was subsequently treated and removed by Guernsey’s Asian hornet team.
Pictured: Peter Cunneen, Sark’s Asian hornet volunteer coordinator with the nest. (Guernsey Asian hornet team)
Peter Cunneen, Sark’s Asian hornet volunteer coordinator, said: “This nest has eluded me since early June, so I am extremely grateful to Chris Isaacs for spotting it from the ferry and to both the Jersey and Guernsey Asian hornet teams for all the help they’ve provided.
"It’s a superb example of inter-island cooperation and a great outcome for the Inter-Island Environment Meeting.”
Hornet nests are often very well camouflaged and difficult to locate, but this one was so large that it was clearly visible from the Sark ferry as it passed the north-easterly side of the island.
It is thought that this nest may have originated from one of the hornet queens that arrived in Sark during the spring months, and so it may have been developing over the past six months.
Pictured: Damian Harris, Invasive Non-Native Species Field and Research Officer, with the nest. (Guernsey Asian hornet team)
The nest, suspended on a single slender branch of a shrubby sycamore, was treated in the morning and removed three hours later.
The policy is that all hornet nests are retrieved, double bagged and placed inside a freezer for 48 hours which is necessary to prevent the later emergence of more hornets.
Examination of the nest confirmed that although a few queens were already present, around 750 were just on the point of emerging and expected to leave the nest in the next two weeks. Therefore, this nest was removed at a "crucial time".
This is the sixth nest that has been safely removed in Sark this year.
Asian Hornets: A nest of achievements... with more work still to do
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