![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/7986bd_f10a5c2447c045beb73870cae2a1480b~mv2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Asian Hornet nest that was successfully removed today.<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has confirmed the successful removal of the first Asian Hornet nest ever discovered in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The controlled operation took place in Dundonald today (18 October), close to the site where the invasive insect was first reported on 10 October.<\/p>\n
The Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) is considered a serious environmental threat, preying on honeybees and native pollinators, and potentially disrupting local ecosystems and crop production that depend on pollination.<\/p>\n
A specialist team from the NIEA\u2019s Invasive Non-Native Species unit led the removal, working alongside a trained pest control company. <\/p>\n
Guidance was provided by the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), while an official from the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford offered on-the-ground support through the Shared Island Biosecurity and Invasive Species Initiative.<\/p>\n
The NIEA said that ongoing surveillance will continue in the Dundonald area to ensure that no further hornet activity is detected.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the agency<\/strong> said the successful operation highlights the importance of rapid public reporting:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first occurrence of such a nest in Northern Ireland. The Asian Hornet poses a significant threat to honeybees, native insects, pollinators and local ecosystems, as well as crop production which relies on pollinators.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the public and the beekeeping community are being urged to remain vigilant and to report any suspected sightings of the species immediately. <\/p>\n Reports should include a clear photograph and can be made via the Asian Hornet Watch app or through the CEDaR invasive species online recording system.<\/p>\n The NIEA emphasised that suspected nests should not be disturbed, as the hornets can become aggressive if threatened.<\/p>\n Public urged to help monitor invasive species<\/strong><\/p>\n The discovery follows an increase in sightings across parts of the UK and Ireland, raising concerns about the insect\u2019s potential to establish a breeding population. <\/p>\n The NIEA\u2019s prompt action is part of a broader island-wide biosecurity effort aimed at preventing the spread of invasive species through cooperation between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Great Britain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Asian Hornet nest that was successfully removed today. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has confirmed the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[9658,9660,9661,9656,9659,1144,9657,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-509992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-ballymena-news","9":"tag-causeway-coast-and-glens","10":"tag-county-antrim","11":"tag-love-ballymena","12":"tag-mid-and-east-antrim","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-northern-ireland-news","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115396466901277332","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}