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An islander has described her horror after realising her roof had become a hotbed for Asian Hornets.
When events executive Leonie Hervé heard tapping at her bedroom window on Monday, she was shocked to find out that the noise hadn’t come from hailstones, fallen roof debris, or even a pesky pigeon.
In fact, the noise was coming from a troupe of dozens of Asian Hornets making their way to their headquarters – the roof of her St. Aubin flat.
“I can hear them tap on the window when they are trying to locate their nest. But they find it!” she told Express, adding that she can now see “maybe 20 to 25 a minute.”
Video: Hornets buzzing in front of the St. Aubin flat window.
The beastly bugs may only be marginally over an inch long, but they pack one hell of a sting.
But attacks on humans aren’t the fear: Asian hornets are aggressive predators of pollinators, posing a significant threat to the island’s struggling bee population.
They hunt down bees outside their hives, before pulping their body to return to the nest as a meal.
Pictured: Asian hornets were seen carrying bee abdomens.
It was spotting the yellow and black creatures carrying this “cargo” that confirmed to Ms Hervé that the unwanted visitors to her flat were Asian Hornets.
“The nest is in the cavity of the roof above my flat only a few feet away from where I sleep… The sad thing is seeing them bring back our bees. If they continue to thrive, they will have a severe effect on our bee colonies, and ecosystem,” she lamented.
Knowing this, she got in contact with the Environment Department and the Jersey Beekeepers’ Association, who have been working hard to find and fight the hornets threatening their beloved bees.
Pictured: Members of the Jersey Beekeepers Association went to investigate yesterday.
Six members of the latter attended her flat yesterday, confirming that this was the 20th Asian Hornet nest to be discovered on the island this year.
Member John De Carteret set up a telescope away from the property, which is located above Pedro’s. He found that the bugs had been entering the roof space via a tiny hole.
“Today’s nest discovery follows many reports from the heart of St Aubin, over the last few days and weeks, but was finally solved yesterday Leonie, who contacted me before posting a video of what appeared to be a cloud of hornets outside her window,” he said in a post on Facebook.
Video: The Asian Hornets were found to have taken up residence in the roof space. (John De Carteret/Facebook)
Ms Hervé said she was told there could be as many as 1,000 living in her roof.
She added that a few had entered her flat, but hadn’t posed an issue for her. “They aren’t aggressive towards humans unless their nest is being attacked,” she explained.
However, the confirmation of the siting will mean just that: attacking the nest, which could involve closing the property – and maybe even road – so that the roof can be fumigated.
Pictured: Ms Hervé said she may have to leave her property for it to be fumigated in a bid to rid it of Asian Hornets.
An Environment Department spokesperson gave no other details on the situation, other than to state that the matter is “being dealt with.”
Branding the Jersey Beekeepers Association members as “heroes”, Ms Hervé praised the group for their “commendable” hornet hunting efforts.
Ms Hervé also urged anyone who sees one to get in touch with the Department right away if they see one, stating where and when the sighting was.
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