Biosecurity New Zealand staff have detected more hornets in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield.

Two nests, one the size of a cricket ball and the other the size of a golf ball, were discovered just over 100 metres apart, in the same area as previous finds.

One nest was more developed and contained a queen, two worker hornets and two adults which were about to emerge. The other nest was less developed and contained a queen.

Ground surveillance has increased this week to 100 metres from detection sites. The detections show this approach is working. Ground searches, which involve visual inspections of common nesting areas such as trees, roof eaves, and fence lines will expand further next week to include parks and reserves.

Biosecurity New Zealand is also deploying protein-based traps that attract both workers and queens, with plans to ramp up these efforts in the coming week.

More than 120 people are now working on the hornet response, including teams conducting on-the-ground searches.

Recent response activity includes:

• setting more than 180 traps near detection sites
• establishing a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of independent scientific experts to guide ongoing work
• encouraging community involvement, including visiting local markets
• industry groups - including KVH - jointly planning summer response activities based on TAG advice.

There are now nine confirmed queen hornets found in Glenfield and Birkdale. All detected hornets and nests have been safely removed.

All growers - especially those in Auckland - are urged to be on the lookout for yellow-legged hornets or nests, especially in any hives they may have on their property. Report sightings immediately to Biosecurity New Zealand on 0800 80 99 66 or make an online report here.