Asian hornets spotted in Ireland

[Nifty]

Hey @The Hat , be careful out there... These guys are nasty, and the second sighting was in the southern city of Cork!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/officials-issue-warning-rangers-capture-001500783.html

 

[Redbrickman]

They have been in South England for a couple of years now. You wouldn't want to accidentally disturb a nest as in the main part of the season it can be up to 1 Metre in Diameter! The Queen begins the season by building a tiny nest low down and once the new hornets have reach a viable number they move up high in a tre and build their massive hive.

Generally they are regared as any other hornet or bee, mostly they don't bother anyone unless disturbed, but of course like any other stinging insect there can be people who will have a severe allergic reaction to the sting. They can decimate a beehive in a short time though which is why the various authorities in EU countries are trying to control the numbers.

Some of the methods to track down their hives are ingenious. The can be trapped and fitted with a tiny electronic transmitter or a visible tinsel strip, and then released, and followed in flight back to the nest using directional receivers / binoculars.