The first recorded occurrence of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) in Ireland, genetic evidence for a continued single invasion across Europe

By

Dillane, Eileen
Hayden, Rachel
O'Hanlon, Aidan
Butler, Fidelma
Harrison, Simon

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

MycoKeys

Volume

93

Pages

131--138

Subjects

Asian hornet , Haplotype , invasive , Ireland , mtDNA

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2011-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.93.91209

 

Abstract

The first record of the Asian/yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) in Ireland was reported in April 2021, when a single female individual was discovered in Dublin. Vespa velutina has been present in mainland Europe since 2004 and in the UK since 2016 and poses an enormous threat to European apiculture and bee-mediated pollination services. Three mitochondrial genes were sequenced from the Irish specimen to determine whether the specimen originated from the established European population or signified a new point of entry from its native range in China. Additionally, specimens from Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, and the Channel Islands were sequenced at these three genes to build on previous studies which have asserted, based solely on Cytochrome Oxidase 1 (COI) analysis, that the entire range of V. velutina in Europe represents a single invasion which has proliferated since the first record in France. Further data were retrieved from GenBank for comparison. Results reveal that the mtDNA lineage observed in Dublin is the same as that seen throughout Europe, and therefore the arrival of this species in Ireland likely represents a further spread of the ongoing European invasion.