5 September 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
The Asian hornet preys on honeybees, wasps and other insects, and is responsible for the loss of almost 50% of bee hives in some European regions – and was spotted in Ireland earlier this year.
Now the Irish branch of an European consortium against the spread of this biodiversity threat is hosting Ireland’s first Asian Hornet Week from the 6th – 10th September to raise awareness.
Atlantic Positive is a consortium of European beekeeper and academic institutions formed in 2019. It aims to investigate the biology and impact of the Asian hornet and to curb its spread and impact in the Atlantic Area, and is led in Ireland by University College Cork researchers Dr Simon Harrison and Dr Fidelma Butler and supported by researcher Rachel Hayden,
Asian Hornet Week was established in 2017 by the British Beekeepers Association after the first Asian hornets were found in southern England. With the discovery of the first Asian hornet in Ireland in April of this year, Atlantic Positive wants to create awareness of the species and show how the Irish public can identify and report it.
During Asian Hornet Week, the Irish partners of Atlantic Positive will be sharing information via posters, information sheets and videos about the biology and ecology of the Asian hornet.
They will also host a free webinar on Thursday, 9th of September, with guest speakers from the respective government agencies to discuss how to manage the threat of the Asian hornet in Ireland.
To register for the free webinar use their EventBrite link.