In Arcos de Valdevez for the occasion, one of the regions most infested by the hornet, Brito described the tool as a “rapid and simple means of identifying and therefore combatting” the invasion.


"This is a very swift, easy to handle platform that above all enables the identification of the Asian hornet” said the state secretary who added that the subsequent eradication require specialist and specific means.


The information would then get handed on to the municipal authorities responsible for destroying the nests with the government considering additional financing for the worst hit Municipal Councils.


The council of Viana do Castelo, in the Alto Minho, is the worst infected area with some 871 Asian hornet nests identified with 769 destroyed and 102 remaining to be destroyed.


The hornet, capable of destroying indigenous bee species, was first identified in Portugal in 2011 following its arrival in Europe via Bordeaux port in France in 2004.