Advanced radio tracking technology is successfully hunting down yellow-legged hornets (Vespa velutina) and their nests in Auckland, boosting the fight against the insect pest, says Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner north Mike Inglis.
Mr Inglis says the small radio trackers imported from the Netherlands have successfully helped find queens, hundreds of workers, and 3 hornet nests to date.
“The trackers are becoming a very important tool in our eradication operation, and we continue to deploy them,” he says.
Mr Inglis says Biosecurity New Zealand’s on-the-ground team lures worker hornets to a feeding station and observes their movements to help estimate nest proximity.
“Tiny transmitters weighing less than 160 mg are then attached to the workers, and we’ve been able to track their flight path back to the nests using signals from the transmitter to a radio receiver.”
Thermal drones had also been used to pinpoint where nests are and to assess the population inside.
“That ensures we have the best plans in place to safely destroy and remove those nests and hornet populations,” says Mr Inglis.
“This tracker technology is expected to be especially useful as summer progresses and hornets are likely to build larger secondary nests up in trees where they’re less visible to ground searchers.”
Video footage of the trackers in action—YouTube Shorts (1.24)
Mr Inglis says public interest and reporting remain strong, with more than 9700 notifications received so far.
“We have had a fantastic response from across the country and, importantly, from the local community where these hornets have been found. Our teams on the ground have engaged with schools and community groups and there are families making traps and putting them in their backyards.
“Through our groundwork, the recent use of the tracking devices, and public involvement, we have so far found 43 queen hornets, and 30 of these were found with nests.
“Our focus is on locating and destroying queens to stop them producing a new generation of hornets. At the end of autumn, workers die (approximately 600 have been found to date, mostly in nests, and destroyed), but any remaining mated queens can hide over winter and emerge the following spring to build nests and raise their young.
“It’s important to note that all detections have been confined to the Glenfield and Birkdale areas.”
The use of trackers is one part of an intensive eradication operation that includes:
- 965 traps currently in an area out to 11 km from detection locations
- ongoing daily ground surveillance across the North Shore, with over 8,300 visits to individual properties
- a public awareness campaign running throughout summer
- guidance from international experts, primary sector groups and advising the response alongside our own scientists.
Two specialists from the United Kingdom with experience managing yellow-legged hornets are currently in New Zealand, observing the response operation and sharing their expertise, including their use of the tracking technology.
Biosecurity New Zealand encourages anyone who has a suspected hornet specimen, has located a possible nest, or has taken a clear photo to report it:
- online at report.mpi.govt.nz
- by calling Biosecurity New Zealand’s exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 809 966
More information and updates on hornets
Manufacturer information about the hornet tracking system – Robor Nature
For further information and general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 008 333 or email info@mpi.govt.nz
For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.