'Game changer': DNA trial tracks yellow-legged hornets
By Sammy Carter of RNZ
Scientists are trialling using environmental DNA to track signs of yellow-legged hornets in Auckland waterways, with hornet queens potentially emerging from winter hibernation soon.
The last yellow-legged hornets, which have potentially deadly stings, were found in Auckland in April.
Biosecurity NZ has been working to eradicate the invasive pest.
While yellow-legged hornets don’t live in waterways, cells from their bodies can end up there.
The environmental DNA trial may help scientists find nests or decide where to put traps.
Leader of the trial, Bioeconomy Science Institute entomologist Andrew Pugh, said researchers were essentially leveraging waterways as natural collectors of genetic material.
Water samples will be collected from a range of streams and small waterways around Auckland’s North Shore.
He said the same technology had been successfully used to detect pest wasps.
“What makes this research exciting is this will be the first time eDNA testing has been used in a New Zealand biosecurity insect incursion response.
“If successful, this work could help identify areas of hornet activity to quickly track down hard-to-find nests, and to optimise field deployment of surveillance traps.”
To find the best trapping method, the institute is testing traps in the Northern Hemisphere, where Asian hornets are established.
Project lead, entomologist Natalie Page said the trial will run over several weeks starting across Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France.
“Hornets in the Northern Hemisphere are currently in their active season rather than hibernation, providing a valuable opportunity to work with international partners to test different lure and trap combinations,” Page said.
More than 200 traps will be set up in collaboration with beekeepers in Jersey and hornet management specialists, who will report findings to New Zealand researchers.
Victoria University professor of ecology and entomology Phil Lester said the DNA trial was a promising approach.
“New Zealand’s goal for the yellow-legged hornet incursion is eradication,” Lester said.
“That is an ambitious objective, and one that has proven difficult to achieve elsewhere in the world.”
He said any advances in surveillance capability could increase the likelihood of eradicating the pest.
Lester said yellow-legged hornets are likely to arrive again, as they spread across Asia, Europe, and the United States.
“These projects will strengthen New Zealand’s preparedness for future hornet incursions and other invasive insect threats.”
An expert in environmental biosecurity, Benjamín Durán-Vinet, said taking testing out of the lab and into the field could mean getting answers on the spot.
He said this was a “game changer”.
“This is exactly the kind of research and development capability that Aotearoa New Zealand – and the international biosecurity community – will increasingly need to protect our ecosystems.”
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz
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