Asian hornet: understanding the threat and protecting our environment for the long term

The Asian hornet, which arrived in France in the early 2000s, is now disrupting our ecosystems.
Its rapid proliferation puts bees, pollination, and biodiversity at risk.
Faced with this threat, understanding the differences between the European hornet and its Asian counterpart is essential to taking better action, reporting nests effectively, and preserving our environment.

There are various solutions to reduce this threat, which we outline further down this page. However, 85% of hornet nests go undetected by humans because they are often located deep within large trees. This is why Cominthesky innovated in 2025 to create a new technology capable of surveying 100 to 200 hectares per day to determine if hornet nests are present, how many there are, and their precise geolocation. To achieve this, they combined custom-built drone technology with a high-precision thermal camera, a powerful onboard computer, AI specifically designed to detect hornet nests, and a web app to display their locations.

Discover this technology

Drone-based nest detection and geolocation

High-sensitivity thermal analysis

Nests are often impossible to identify manually, even for ground crews. To address this challenge, Cominthesky uses drones equipped with:

high-sensitivity thermal cameras,
a powerful onboard computer,
a high-capacity hard drive,
and in-house developed artificial intelligence capable of automatically analyzing every thermal image.

Each tree is scanned from 5 to 8 thermal angles, which helps reveal even the most discreet nests, particularly in wooded areas or tree-lined urban settings.

In a single day, several dozen hectares can be analyzed with unparalleled efficiency.

Centimeter-level nest geolocation

Thanks to onboard RTK technology, our drones provide centimeter-level accuracy, making it possible to obtain:

the exact GPS coordinates of the nest,
its height,
its orientation,
and the nature of its immediate environment (tree, building, sensitive area, proximity to homes or apiaries).

This precision ensures perfect positioning during the treatment phase.

Automated mapping via web app

Each thermal image validated by the AI is sent to our web app, which generates a clear and comprehensive map of the detected nests.
It allows you to:

visualize nest density,
identify priority areas,
track interventions from season to season.

In most cases, this mapping reveals that only 15% of nests had been detected by humans prior to intervention.

Plan a drone detection campaign

Drone-based nest treatment and neutralization

Risk-free intervention for teams

Approximately 15 days after treatment, a follow-up mission is carried out to:

detach the nest using plaster pellets,
retrieve the neutralized nest,
incinerate it in accordance with environmental regulations.

This operation ensures complete and lasting elimination, preventing any reuse.

Nest detachment and incineration

After the detection phase, Cominthesky uses a specialized treatment drone equipped with:

a paintball system,
a high-precision laser sight,
and specialized anti-hornet pellets.

The drone positions itself exactly in front of the nest using centimeter-level geolocation, then neutralizes the colony in a few minutes, without exposing teams to stings or unnecessarily disturbing the area.

This method avoids the use of aerial lifts, ladders, or dangerous human intervention.