A second nest of Asian hornets has been found in Cork, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) confirmed on Saturday.
This nest is in Cobh, while the first nest was in Cork city.
A single hornet sighting in Dublin has also been verified.
The initial nest was located in a private garden on the south side of the city last month, and was safely removed on Friday.
Further sightings of the hornets were investigated, leading to the discovery of a second nest in Cobh on Friday evening.
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“This nest is significantly smaller than the first nest, and is located roughly 10km from the first site,” a statement from the NPWS noted.
“The nest will be removed following the same protocol developed for the first removal, and will be brought to the national museum for further testing and analysis.”
An individual sighting of a hornet in Inchicore, Dublin, has also been verified.
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A spokesman said that experts from the NPWS, the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the National Museum of Ireland, as well as local beekeepers have been “working continuously since the first sighting was recorded at the start of August”.
If Asian hornets were to spread across Ireland it would be a “disaster” for bees and biodiversity in general, one expert told The Irish Times in August.
Frankie de Dobbelaere, a member of the Louth Beekeepers Association, has completed a hornet eradication course in Belgium and worked with other beekeepers to track hornets in the Netherlands.
“It’s not only a concern for beekeepers, but also for our biodiversity – because one such nest can consume up to 12 or more kilograms of insects,“ Ms de Dobbelaere said last month.
Judges inspect the honey at the Phoenix Park show. Photograph: Cian O’Connell
In Dublin, attendees at the Phoenix Park’s Biodiversity Festival and Honey Show were conscious of the development amid the day’s talks.
“It’s something that we have to be vigilant for,” Leif Barry, the head guide at the park’s visitor centre, said ahead of his talk on the subject. “It’s happened on the continent. In 2004, the Asian hornet first showed up in Europe. All invasive species tend to be transported through human activity… A big concern would be that it can impact on bumblebees, on hoverflies, on butterflies and then of course, from a commercial point of view, it can impact on the honeybees.
“The fact is it spreads rapidly throughout because it’s such a ferocious predator so it’s quite adaptable to its new environment. It doesn’t really have any predators itself and that tends to be the issue with invasive species. They’re outside their natural habitat so something that might predate on them isn’t there to keep them in check.”
DNA analysis and genome sequencing will soon reveal where the insects came from, he said.
“That’s going to tell us more about them and how far they are along. [We’ll find out] how well established they are and whether or not the queens are established, and then we’ll be able to pinpoint where they’ve arrived from.”
Beekeeping is central to the festival’s showcase, but it incorporates all manner of biodiversity groups. Barry lauds the National Biodiversity Data Centre for initiatives like the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, which attempts to improve the landscape for pollinators and reduce the threat of extinction for wild bee species around the country.
If a member of the public thinks they see a hornet, they should photograph it if possible and contact the NPWS or the NBDC.
The Asian hornet is generally not aggressive but may sting if provoked, so people should not approach them. Such hornets are often confused with non-invasive species such as the giant woodwasp, the dark giant horsefly and the common wasp.
Asian hornets are also known as yellow-legged hornets due to the distinctive yellow or orange colouring on their legs and part of their abdomen.