Yellow-legged hornets in Auckland

Situation update

A large-scale response has been underway to eradicate this insect pest, guided by local and international scientific advice and supported by cutting-edge global technology.

As at mid-May, 77 queen hornets and 132 nests have been located and destroyed. No hornets or nests have been found since early April 2026, and in the coming weeks we will move to a winter response phase where trapping will continue but the previous extensive field searches will reduce.

We still need people to be on the lookout.

Members of the public have made a huge contribution to the success so far, with more than 17,600 (as at mid-May) notifications of suspected sightings.

Report suspected sightings of hornets or their nests

From late autumn, all hornets die except for mated queens. If any of these queens have survived our operation, they will hibernate over winter, hiding in places such as under bark, leaf litter, and woodpiles. Be careful not to disturb them, as they can sting. It is also important that these queens are not inadvertently moved to other areas where they could set up a new population. Take care moving items stored outdoors, particularly caravans, camping gear, vehicles, firewood, and boats. Check before you relocate in case there is a hiding queen.

If you see anything, report it:

by calling our exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 809 966
by emailing us at info@mpi.govt.nz
online at report.mpi.govt.nz – if you use this method, select the ‘suspected yellow-legged hornet’ option from the dropdown list.

Ensure you give your location when making reports and take a photo if possible.

We'll update this page when there are new developments.

About the hornets found in Auckland

Yellow-legged hornets are native to Southeast Asia and are now widespread across much of Europe, the UK, and the USA. Here, they have only been found in a confined area of Auckland's North Shore. We believe it's unlikely they are present outside this area.

A yellow-legged hornet shown to scale.

The yellow-legged hornet is classified as an unwanted organism due to its potential impact on honeybee and wild-bee populations.

It primarily feeds on bees, wasps, and flies. It may compete with native insects and birds for food, and it has a painful sting.

Genetic testing has shown the hornets found in Auckland are all related and likely stem from a single fertilised female that got into the country in late 2024.

The biosecurity response to the hornet

The operation has been guided by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of national and international experts, many of whom have direct operational experience dealing with the yellow-legged hornet in the UK and Europe.

The response operations so far have included a range of activities and methods, including radio tracking, the use of bait stations, and AI camera technology.

Surveillance zone

This extends out to 11 km from hornet detections. Within this area we set out hundreds of traps with protein and carbohydrate baits. We deployed feeding stations to attract hornets that we could then track back to their nests, either visually or using radio trackers.

Radio tracking

Using tiny trackers mounted on hornets, we were able to track them to their nests so we could poison the colony and remove the nest.

The equipment we used to put the trackers on the hornets.

AI-enabled cameras

These cameras could monitor hornet activity, including direction of travel, freeing up field staff for other activities.

Vespex bait

This poisoned protein bait is deployed to attract hornets and wasps, which collect the product and take it back to the nest, poisoning the whole colony. Over 10,000 bait stations were deployed.

Vespex bait station attached to a tree.

Field workforce

At the height of operations, we deployed a field crew of over 50 staff each day to carry out the above detection and removal activities.

UK specialists

Two British experts in hornet detection and destruction have made visits to train our field team and advise on fieldwork, enabling fast upskilling of our team.

Working with beekeepers

Their observations have enhanced surveillance around hives. There are over 438 active registered apiaries within the 11 km zone.

Public information

We have run extensive education campaigns and media activities to successfully encourage community participation in the response, generating over 17,600 public reports.