Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
After intensifying ground search efforts, Biosecurity New Zealand staff have detected more hornets in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield.
Two nests, one the size of a cricket ball and the other the size of a golf ball, were discovered just over 100 metres apart, in the same area as previous finds.
“One nest was more developed and contained a queen, 2 worker hornets and 2 adults which were about the emerge. The other nest was less developed and contained a queen,” says Mike Inglis, northern commissioner, Biosecurity New Zealand.
“We’ve been increasing our ground surveillance this week to 100 metres from detection sites. The detections show this approach is working,” Mr Inglis says.
Ground searches, which involve visual inspections of common nesting areas such as trees, roof eaves, and fence lines will expand further next week to include parks and reserves.
Biosecurity New Zealand is also deploying protein-based traps that attract both workers and queens, with plans to ramp up these efforts in the coming week.
More than 120 people are now working on the hornet response, including teams conducting on-the-ground searches.
Recent response activity includes:
- setting more than 180 traps near detection sites
- establishing a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of independent scientific experts to guide ongoing work
- encouraging community involvement — staff will visit local markets this weekend to share information
- working with industry groups to plan joint summer response activities based on TAG advice.
Since 17 October 2025, 9 confirmed queen hornets have been found in Glenfield and Birkdale. All detected hornets and nests have been safely removed.
Public interest remains high, with more than 2,800 notifications received so far.
Members of the public are urged to report suspected hornets or nests — but only if they have a specimen, a clear photo, or have located a possible nest.
Reports can be made:
Further information and regular updates on hornet finds
We are aware that some people want to make homemade traps.
