Climate change making Ireland more hospitable to invasive species, experts warn

The Asian hornet is an invasive species in European countries, and a threat to local biodiversity.

The discovery of two large Asian hornet nests in Cork and the single hornet sighting in Dublin in August and September is the latest indication that climate change is making Ireland more suitable for invasive species, the Climate Change Advisory Council has warned.

These species are a “growing threat” to the country’s native biodiversity and are a sign of an “accelerating ecological risk”, the council said in its latest annual review of biodiversity.