The first tracking hornet species from the control plan which has been implemented and consists of a system of 70 traps in the municipality of Siero. These investigations were completed without any specimens being found.
The first scan of the plan to combat the soror hornet (Vespa soror) promoted by the Ministry of Rural Environment and Agricultural Policy has been completed with no specimens detected. The Principality has deployed in the council of Siero, especially in the parish of Granda, a high density tracking network which covers 840 hectares and consists of 70 special traps, adapted to the morphology and sizes of these insects, in which none have been found so far.
Control of the gadfly continues
However, Medio Rural will continue to monitor this area, where four specimens were found in 2022 and 2023. Moreover, in the spring of 2025, coinciding with the exit from hibernation of the queens of this speciesan additional, larger network will be installed, covering 8,000 hectares and covering areas of the municipalities of Siero, Noreña and Oviedo. Both networks will continue to exist until at least the end of June.
In the context of emergency plan prepared by the Center for Alert and Control of Pests and Invasive Species and presented in November, the Government of Asturias has also prepared posters and placed specific sections for information and notification on the AvisAp platform, both in the web version and in the application for mobile devices.
The scientific journal Ecology and Evolution recently published an article by a zoology research group at the University of Oviedo that reports on the discovery of two examples of Vespa soror in 2022and two more in 2023, in a rural area south of the industrial estates of Granda, in Siero. After this information was published, the Government of Asturias immediately launched the emergency plan to prevent the implementation of this invasive species in the community.
He Soror hornet is a large predator of bees and other insects and can alter the biological balance of the areas in which it is implanted. The species comes from subtropical areas of Southeast Asia and countries such as China, Thailand or Vietnam, so experts believe that its adaptation to the climate of Asturias may be complex.
Just like the rest of the hornets They usually attack in defense of the nestso the danger they pose to people is limited to these situations. However, they usually build them underground, at a shallow depth, which increases the risk.
The Pest and Invasive Species Alert and Control Center has informed the public about this will continue to monitor and that this will be expanded next spring to include the councils of Noreña and Oviedo.