Collapse of Irish honey industry due to Asian hornets, warns scientist
03 Jun 2021, 17:54 GMT+10
DUBLIN, Ireland: The Asian hornet poses a threat to the Irish honeybee population, according to an environmental scientist.
The hornet was discovered in Ireland for the first time last week.
Dr Fidelma Butler from the University College Cork's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences warned that the Asian hornet can pose a threat to Ireland's honeybees, wasps and pollinators, as it preys on them.
Butler described the hornets as "large insects with a high energy requirement" and are voracious eaters, as quoted by RTE television.
She noted that the hornet has been removed from 19 sites in the UK since 2016, while the first live specimen in Ireland was found in Dublin last week.