Mystery of the Asian hornet queen found in Dublin garage of motorbiker
A MYSTERIOUS Asian hornet is causing a major buzz after it was found in a man’s garage.
DNA testing is taking place on the invasive insect, which preys on bees, wasps, and other pollinators and is considered a threat to biodiversity and local ecosystems if it gets established.
It has already spread widely in France and has been reported in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium, but this is the first known discovery in Ireland.
The aggressive predator was found ‘alive but dying’ on the floor by a motorbike owner who believed it got caught in his vehicle on his way home from work via Dublin Airport. The motorbike owner contacted the Department of Agriculture to let them know about his discovery.
However, in documents obtained under Freedom of Information, officials in the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) said they
‘Insects that hit vehicles do not survive’
believe the theory that the hornet got stuck in the bike was an ‘unlikely scenario’ and suggested other lines of inquiry needed to be pursued to find where the hornet originally came from.
One email said: ‘We all know that most insects that hit vehicles do not survive, or they bounce off the vehicle and do not come attached [to it].’
In correspondence, NPWS officials suggested it was more likely the hornet had been shipped into Ireland from France, which was considered the ‘most likely origin’ country.
Officials wanted to ask if the motorbike had ever been on the continent or if it had only recently been bought and shipped to Ireland. They also wanted to assess how easily the garage could have been infiltrated to see if the hornet had flown in from a neighbouring property.
Another email said: ‘Could insects get inside easily? This seems an important one, the insect could simply have flown in and he found it but the motorbike association is coincidence.’ The NPWS also wanted to know if there were any timber yards nearby or other businesses that import pallets or wood from France.
However, the owner said none of the possibilities raised by officials seemed likely in his case. In an email, he said: ‘I believe the hornet came into my garage with the motorcycle as I put it in the garage immediately after I got back; it’s always closed. I have checked around the garden and garage and found nothing unusual.’
Mystery also surrounded the type of insect it was with emails saying it was not possible to definitively say if the hornet was a queen or a worker. One email said: ‘Queens tend to be larger than workers of course but since this is a single specimen, there is no reference as to what size a worker would be for comparison.’
However, officials felt it was more likely to be a queen because it was found alive in mid-April, and workers – even on the continent – generally were not active until the end of May or early June.
An email said: ‘Technically, “most likely a queen” is as accurate as we can be based on a single female specimen found alive at that time of year but in my opinion it was undoubtedly a queen.’
Records also detail how the Department of Agriculture was first alerted to the discovery of the hornet on April 26.
The author of the email said: ‘I came across this unusual large hornet yesterday in North County Dublin.’
However, a public notice of the discovery issued a week and a half later on May 7 said that while the discovery of a single specimen was a cause for alarm, there was no evidence of any colonies here.
A spokesman said: ‘The National Parks and Wildlife Service… are aware that investigations into the possible origin of the specimen are being done.
‘The Atlantic Positive team at UCC are carrying out the DNA investigation on the specimen. However, while the work is being funded from the project’s own resources, we are supportive of [their efforts].
‘Other work in relation to traps and beekeeping is being carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.’
‘It was undoubtedly a queen’