Overview
- Authorities confirm 43 queen yellow-legged hornets found this summer, with detections limited to Auckland’s Glenfield and Birkdale.
- Since Christmas, crews have fitted sub‑160 mg radio transmitters to workers and used thermal drones, locating hundreds of workers and three nests that were subsequently destroyed with queens inside.
- Two UK specialists with field experience have joined operations on the ground to advise on locating and neutralizing secondary nests in taller trees.
- The effort has logged nearly 10,000 public reports, engaged about 575 beekeepers across an 11 km search zone, and deployed up to 170 staff, with NZ$2–3 million spent to date.
- Biosecurity New Zealand urges continued reporting of suspected hornets or nests via the hotline or online portal as the summer search intensifies.