2920 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

2920 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: Is there likely to be added value in conducting additional searches for the yellow-Legged hornets outside the core 1 km, 5 km and 11 km detection buffer zones?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: I am advised that ground-based searches for hornet nests will continue in a targeted manner in areas where hornets are detected. I am advised that this incursion is derived from the arrival of a single inseminated queen in the 2024/2025 season. Queens from last season would not typically have flown more than 4 kilometres from their nest of origin when seeking a place to hibernate and they establish nests close to where they hibernated. Given the current point in the lifecycle, it is highly unlikely that a nest would be found by untargeted ground searches without sightings of hornets in the area. Currently, the most effective way to find and eliminate hornet nests is by tracking worker hornets back to their nest, for which the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is successfully using a suite of tools including radio tracking technology. This is occurring within the detection buffer zones already established. My officials advise me that MPI continues to meet with bee sector groups regularly and engage with the public. Beekeepers across New Zealand are being provided with information, encouraging them to report any hornet activity. MPI has received over 11,000 hornet-specific notifications from across New Zealand, and none of the reports from outside the response area have been of hornets.