Artificial Intelligence raises alarm on invasive hornet species


VespAI measuring and analysing Asian hornets upon activation (Credit: University of Exeter)


VespAI setup (Credit: Peter J. Kennedy)


An automated system that attracts hornets to a monitoring station has been able to identify invasive Asian hornets with almost perfect accuracy, according to researchers at the University of Exeter.


Incorporating a compact processor, the VespAI system, which captures standardised images using an overhead camera, remains dormant unless its sensors identify an insect within the size range of a hornet.


If this happens, the system’s AI algorithm activates, analysing the image to determine if it’s an Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), or native European hornet (Vespa crabro). If an Asian hornet is detected, the monitor then sends an image alert to the user, allowing them to confi rm the identifi cation.


Asian hornets (also known as yellow-legged hornets) have already invaded much of mainland Europe and parts of east Asia and have recently been reported in the US states of Georgia and South Carolina. The UK sits at the edge of the European invasion front and with ongoing yearly incursions there is an urgent need for improved monitoring systems.


“Our goal was to develop something cost-effective and versatile, so anyone – from governments to individual beekeepers – could use it,” said Dr Thomas O’Shea-Wheller, from the Environment and Sustainability Institute on Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall. “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.”


At present, the UK response strategy depends upon people seeing, identifying and reporting Asian hornets. However, this has some limitations. “Unfortunately, the majority of reports submitted are misidentifi ed 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.


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.”


European hornet (Vespa Crabo ) triggers station operation (Credit: University of Exeter)


VespAI bait station (Credit: Peter J. Kennedy)


The research project included both biologists and data scientists from the University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute, Centre for Ecology and Conservation and Institute for Data Science and Artifi cial Intelligence.


Following record numbers of Asian hornet sightings in the UK during 2023, this year the team will begin deploying additional prototypes in collaboration with Defra, the National Bee Unit, the British Beekeepers Association and Vita Bee Health.


“The proposed device may prove a powerful tool in the early determination of the presence of Asian hornets in an area and thereby fi lls an important gap,” said Alistair Christie, Senior Scientifi c Offi cer for Invasive Species in Jersey and who was part of the collaborative testing effort.


Asian hornets detected on bait station (Credit: University of Exeter)


During the project, the system was tested extensively on the island of Jersey, which experiences high numbers of Asian hornet incursions due to its proximity to France. The VespAI’s detection algorithm was said to have successfully distinguished Asian hornets and a variety of other insects including European hornets, even when present in large numbers.


The project was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UKRI.


‘VespAI: a deep learning-based system for the detection of invasive hornets;’ was published in Communications Biology.


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High energy EM to support future UK research expansion


Professor Angus Kirkland, Science Director at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Chair of Materials at the University of Oxford, and RUEDI Lead for Life Sciences, said: “We are thrilled to be part of this partnership with the University of Liverpool and STFC.


“This project has great potential to revolutionise how we see life; using this technology we will be able to see interactions happening within a cell at molecular resolution. This will give us new insights into biology and will hopefully open the door to the discovery of new medicines.”


Professor Angus Kirkland and the Correlated Imaging group at the Rosalind Franklin Institute (Credit: Rosalind Franklin Institute)


A new £125 million UK national facility, backed by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund, will house the world’s most powerful high energy electron microscope and support UK scientifi c research supporting multi-disciplinary research in key scientifi c and technological areas.


A collaboration between the University of Liverpool, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Rosalind Franklin Institute, the facility, known as RUEDI (Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and Imaging), will be built at the SciTech Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus in the Liverpool City region.


The instrument will allow dynamic study of biological and chemical processes in ‘real time’ and at the femtosecond timescale – one quadrillionth of a second or faster.


For life sciences, this exceptional instrument will open up new areas of investigation, enabling studies of thicker samples than can currently be imaged. With a penetration depth around 10 micrometres, researchers will for example, be able to look at whole eukaryotic cells at unprecedented resolution to observe complex dynamic process as well as the effects of drug action within cells and cellular components.


The team hope to fi rst apply this technology to studying cardiac disease and viral invasion of cells hoping to provide key insights which may lead to the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics.


Professor Nigel Browning, Chair of Electron Microscopy in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool, and RUEDI project lead, commented on the recent announcement: “This is excellent news for the University of Liverpool, for the North West region and for the UK scientifi c community.


“RUEDI is the fi rst facility to allow the evolution of structural changes in materials to be observed and determined through time-resolved experiments, rather than by static structure. This ground-breaking capability will help researchers develop the new technologies and


solutions needed to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”


Construction is planned to start in 2027 with the facility opening expected in in 2032.


Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair for the Science and Technologies Facilities Council and Infrastructure Champion for UKRI said: “Through these investments UKRI continues to equip the research and innovation community with the tools it needs to explore and develop the science and technologies needed for the coming decades. The long-term nature of this investment also helps to maintain the UK’s key position on the world stage of research and innovation for the future.”


Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, said: “As science and technology develops faster than ever, it is vital we ensure UK innovators have the right tools at their disposal to continue ground-breaking work from revolutionising medicine to protecting the world we live in for generations to come.


“From digitising millions of specimens to help halt future pandemics, to building the most powerful microscope of its type right here in the UK to improve drug design, to better information sharing between labs, our £473 million investment infrastructure will set the conditions that allow our brightest minds to thrive and build a healthier and more prosperous UK.”


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