The hornet arrived in Lot-en-Garonne, France in a consignment of pottery from China in 2004. It spread across France, to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium & the Balearic Islands.
The hornet was carried by the wind to the Channel Islands, with Jersey being particularly badly affected. In 2023, they had found 337 nests.
The first sighting was in Tetbury in September 2016.
In 2023 by mid-November, the authorities had destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations, mostly in the South East.
A single dying hornet was found in a consignment of vegetables in 2022.
Given the number of nests in the UK, it is only a matter of time before a queen arrives in Ireland in a truck with timber or vegetables or similar.