They’re big, they’re bold, and they’ve crash-landed in Cork. The Asian hornet - an uninvited tourist with a sting in its tail - officially arrived in Ireland this summer. Picture it: beach-ball nests hidden in your local sycamore, buzzing with thousands of honeybee-hungry invaders. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has already registered 24 verified sightings. 

But hornets are just the latest in a long parade of alien gatecrashers. From rhododendrons running wild in the woods, to grey squirrels muscling in on our reds, to coypu lurking in canals, invasive species have been rewriting Ireland’s nature story for centuries. 

Biologist and broadcaster Éanna Ní Lamhna joins Ciara Doherty to separate the myths from the stings. How dangerous are these hornets really? Why do invasive species thrive once they set up shop? And can our native wildlife fight back? 

It’s a conversation that’s part creepy-crawly horror film, part natural history lesson, part call to arms. Because spotting, reporting, and understanding these invaders might be the only way to keep them in check – or, as Éanna puts it, “clobber them” early on! 

🐝 Report your Asian hornet sightings at invasives.ie 

📚 The new edition of Éanna Ní Lamhna’s book, Wild Dublin: Exploring Nature in the City, is published by The O’Brien Press