Artificial Intelligence could be used to help stop the spread of killer Asian Hornets across Britain, a BBC Springwatch presenter has claimed.
Gillian Burke, who has presented the BBC nature series since 2017, praised new technology which helps to identify the invasive insects.
‘AI can work with accuracy, and at speeds that my younger self could only dream of and never get bored,’ Ms Burke said.
‘The past few years have seen artificial intelligence tools deployed to monitor wild species and habitats in a number of impressive ways.
‘Trials are underway, for example, to see if AI can be used to identify invasive Asian hornets with the aim of providing an early-warning system that raises the alarm if the species is spreading to new parts of the UK.
‘It remains to be seen if AI will one day empathise with its animal subjects as much as I did, and learn to see every individual as a sovereign being, each with a face and a story of its own.’
Gillian Burke, who has presented the BBC nature series since 2017, praised new technology which helps to identify the invasive insects
A huge nest was discovered in toilets which were open to the public in Jersey in 2022
University of Exeter researchers have developed a system called VespAI to photograph Asian hornets and give the authorities time to mount a response.
Asian hornets often invade honey bee colonies and prey on the bees.
Dr Thomas O’Shea-Wheller, from the Environmental and Sustainability Institute on Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall said: ‘In some parts of Europe, detection relies on hornet trapping – but such traps kill a lot of native insects, and do little to impact Asian hornet numbers.’
‘VespAI does not kill non-target insects, and thus eliminates the environmental impact of trapping, while ensuring that live hornets can be caught and tracked back to the nest, which is the only effective way to destroy them.’
2023 saw a record number of Asian hornet sightings in the UK.
They have already invaded much of mainland Europe and east Asia and annual incursions meant that improved monitoring systems were urgently required.
The developers tested the technology in Jersey, as the island experiences high numbers of Asian hornets due to its proximity to France.
The tech tracks the hornets back to the nest, which is the only effective way to destroy them
2023 saw a record number of Asian hornet sightings in the UK
Pictured, some of the hornets captured by Peter Down. The beekeeper said he lost between 14 and 16 hives because of the pests
Concerns have been raised by experts that if the insect does establish itself in Britain, this could have dramatic consequences for our native pollinators
‘Our system’s high accuracy means that it won’t wrongly identify other species, or miss any Asian hornets that visit,’ said Dr O’Shea-Wheller.
‘This study tested a prototype version, and the results were encouraging. VespAI shows promise as a robust early warning system to detect Asian hornet ingressions into new regions.
The current system relies on people seeing and identifying Asian hornets.
‘Unfortunately, the majority of reports submitted are misidentified native species, meaning that the responsible agencies have to manually validate thousands of images every year.
‘Our system thus aims to provide a vigilant, accurate and automated surveillance capability to remediate this,’ said Dr Peter Kennedy, who conceptualised the system.
The team will begin deploying additional prototypes in collaboration with Defra, the National Bee Unit, the British Beekeepers Association and Vita Bee Health.
It follows a surge in population after the invasive species survived a UK winter for the first time.
Government scientists discovered the insects remained in Britain throughout the winter months, raising fears that British honeybee populations could be decimated as numbers increase into the summer.
It comes after the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) reported a record number of 72 nests being spotted in the past year.
Asian hornets, which have black bodies and yellow legs, eat honeybees as well as fruit and flowers.
They are native to Southeast Asia but evidence is now beginning to show this species could be in the first stages of being established in the UK.
There have so far been 17 confirmed sightings of Asian hornets in the UK in March until July 2, compared with only two by the same point last year.
The Channel Islands have already reported a huge surge in Asian Hornet sightings, perhaps indicating what is to come in mainland Britain.
Jersey has seen so many that officials have set up Asian hornet traps around the island.
Experts say that Asian hornets are dangerously close to becoming established in the UK. Members of the public have been urged to be vigilant for the invasive species
Peter Down at his apiary in Kent, after his business was ruined by the invasive hornet species
Each nest produces 350 fertilised queens (pictured) each year, every one of these is capable of creating their own nest should they survive the winter
In September beekeeper Peter Down, from Kent, saw first hand the havoc the hornets can cause after he lost thousands of bees at his apiary.
Mr Down, 40, from New Romney, said: ‘We were pushing more than 20 hives coming into the season, but have lost between 14 and 16. I feel like I’ve lost everything.
‘I have noticed a lot more hawking [hovering at the entrance to hives] happening and the Asian hornets are now picking on one of my stronger hives, so that may deplete in the next few days.’
Concerns have been raised by experts that if the insect does establish itself in Britain, this could have dramatic consequences for our native pollinators.