Invasive hornets threaten the Canary Islands

A report has warned that surveillance is required to prevent the arrival of invasive hornets on the islands.

The APICLIMPACT Project, which analyses the effects of climate change on beekeeping, has said that “it is only a matter of time “before hornets will establish themselves on the islands unless monitoring and surveillance is carried out. Beekeepers have been identified as a key element in this process.

Hornets are large predatory insects that resemble large wasps, and are a significant threat to bees, as well as posing danger to humans from stings. Their range has already expanded in the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands.

The high volume of air and sea traffic to the Canaries is identified as a possible source of hornet invasion. Currently, no hornets are found on the islands, and Lanzarote is also free of the black-and-yellow German wasp well known to European picnickers.

The main wasps found on Lanzarote are large, black delta wasps which may cause alarm but are extremely unlikely to sting humans.