Hi-tech solution as second hornet found near Ringaskiddy

14:10, 01 Oct 2026Updated 14:13, 01 Oct 2026

An Asian hornet in France equipped with a transmitter(Image: Getty)

A urgent race is underway to locate an Asian hornet nest in Cork – but the National Parks and Wildlife Service has a hi-tech trick up its sleeve, turning hornets into undercover agents to expose the location of their nests.

A major surveillance op is now taking place in the Ringaskiddy area after the discovery of two Asian hornets in Cork. The first hornet was snapped and captured by a member of the public last week – and the second was found yesterday, heightening the search for a potential nest.

The NPWS has set up “bait stations” to try and lure hornets for capture. The agency then plans to deploy “the latest transmitters” to follow the individuals back to their nests. A tiny transmitter will be attached to the captured hornet like a backpack – turning the insect in a ‘Traitor’ against its colony – and the beacon will allow NPWS crews to find the nest without the need for a sprawling search.

The technique having proven successful in recent years in the UK and France.

Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, confirmed: “The discovery yesterday of a second hornet is a significant development and suggests that a nest may be present nearby. Our response has now moved into a critical new phase, with specialist bait stations being deployed to track and trace any further hornet activity and pinpoint the nest location as quickly as possible.

“Conservation Rangers will use the latest transmitter technology to follow the movements of individual hornets back to their nest. This approach has proven highly successful in other countries, including the UK, and gives us the best possible chance of locating the nest before the species can establish itself.”

The Minister added that “anyone who believes they may have seen an Asian hornet to report it immediately through the website www.invasives.ie.”

These insects have been spreading across Europe in recent years and have had a measurable impact on the honeybee populations. This year, the UK has dealt with the creatures spreading as far as Manchester, and with so much maritime traffic between Ireland and the UK, one major worry is that they could spread to Ireland via our ports and establish a nest – as might have happened in Ringaskiddy.

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