Overview
- MPI says six hornets have been confirmed in Auckland to date, comprising four queens and two males found in Glenfield and nearby Birkdale.
- Biosecurity New Zealand has deployed staff in affected suburbs, delivered household leaflets, and removed two nests identified by field teams.
- Scientists are finalising trapping and baiting options with a deployment plan slated to begin, and an independent technical advisory group is being convened.
- Officials emphasise rapid public reporting as the main surveillance tool and direct residents to submit photos or specimens via the MPI website or 0800 80 99 66.
- Conservationist Brad Windust condemns the official response as too slow, urges widespread use of homemade traps, and warns of risks to bees and pollination-dependent agriculture, while officials caution about non-target bycatch.