A scientist who spotted a hornet in a beer garden at the end of July, triggering a biosecurity alert for Ireland, has said he knew by looking at it that it was not one of Ireland's native species.
Dr Dave O'Leary, who is a Senior Technical Officer at the Department of Medicine in UCC, has urged people to report sightings to the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
Speaking to RTÉ's News at One programme Dr O'Leary said he was out with three other former students of zoology in the beer garden of Coughlan's Bar on Douglas Street, Cork on 31 July when they spotted the unusual insect.
He said that there were lots of wasps around in the beer garden when they saw it but this one looked different.
"The hornet was basically twice the size of a regular wasp," he said. "So I took a picture of it and sent it to the Biodiversity Ireland who thought that it should be sent on to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS)."
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The next day, they came down to interview him outside the pub and set up some traps to see if they could capture it.
He said that at the time they did not know there was a nest, and they were still hoping that it was an individual hornet.
Dr O'Leary, who is a former graduate of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (known as the School of BEES) said: "I did zoology as my primary degree in UCC and I used to do a little bit of beekeeping when I was younger."
"But, I just knew it looked wrong. It looked like nothing I had seen before - about twice the size of a wasp," he said.
Dr O'Leary said he did not try to kill it because he did not know that it was an invasive species.
"I took two photographs and it flew off before I could even google it," he said.
It was not until later that evening when he googled it that it came up as an Asian hornet, so he passed it on.
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Dr O'Leary, has said public vigilance is very important when it comes to hornets and has urged anyone who sees one, to report sightings to the National Biodiversity Data Centre or the NPWS.
"If they become established in the country it's not good news for the beekeepers and all the other pollinators that the hornets will attack. So the early detection is essential," he said.
He said "hopefully" the NPWS has managed to get on top of the nests that are there.
"We won't know until may be next year if there are more nests," he said.
"And if there are they will have to be destroyed."
