Hunting the hornet: Vespa velutina, the yellow-legged hornet

November 2025

When I wrote last month about starting the Great New Zealand Wasp Hunt I did not realise that a few weeks later there would be a huge surge in trapping activity. The reason? The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina, has been spotted in Auckland.

Basically they are bigger than all the current wasps in New Zealand. Image: Ohio State University

The Ministry of Primary Industries response has been criticised and I do not understand why the public was not informed when the two males were discovered in Grafton and Albany earlier in the year. It was not until a queen was found nest building in Glenfield that MPI released a notification, which was widely and effectively circulated. Since then, three other queens have been spotted in Glenfield and Birkdale. The latter is only one suburb over from here in Birkenhead and until yesterday there were no news about action from the government.

The response is very muted in comparison to what happened when the fruit fly was found in Birkdale. Hindsight will always be the best sight of all, but this is an organism that will significantly affect one of our primary industries, as well as aggressively threaten people, yet it seems that the public are well ahead of the government response on this one. There is a lot of willingness to help stamp this new pest out and people just need good information and direction. Surely there are lessons from Europe that can be harnessed. Whilst many people do not know how to recognise the introduced wasps we have in NZ, word is getting out on social media about how to get rid of them. That can only be good for our native butterflies and moths.

According to media reports, the hornet's diet consists of 40% honey bees, 30% flies and the rest included other wasps and pollinators. Honey bees are not native to New Zealand, but are relied on for pollination of crops and for honey production. The flies and other pollinators will be native and have essential roles in the ecosystem that will be disrupted. Then there is the hornet's effect on us. Apparently one of the most common causes of anaphylaxis is hornet stings. That's a big fat no thank you from me.

I mentioned in the last blog post about wasps that I was going to try protein-based traps and I have those out now for Vespula wasps. Those new recipes have also failed to attract any wasps, as the sugar-based ones had failed before them, even though they are based on professional advice. However, with the hornet now out and about in the neighbourhood as well, I have looked to Europe for more trap recipe ideas. This time it is fruit syrups and beer-based recipes. I have also tried a different type of home-made wasp trap design. If any of them prove in the least bit useful, I will report back with all the details, whether with Vespula wasps or hornets. In the meantime the kids fishing nets and a good stomp are how I am most effectively taking wasps out.

Syrupy, beery trappiness